1 hour ago, Red Hair, Black Dress said:

Did she actually post she forbid Ezra to go to college?  I don't recall seeing this.

She has answered readers' questions about this before with variations of "If any of the children want to go to college, there will be hoops to jump through before we will even consider paying for it". And now there are a couple or three more kids, so it's even less likely that they will consider it for any of them. Even community college has associated costs. I think the children are well aware that college is simply not on the horizon for them.

1 hour ago, theotherelise said:

I think he is 100% dutiful child and following along with exactly what his parents want. I see zero evidence of him rebelling or even noticing that he is limited. I doubt he even looked at going to college. Until he truly wants something that his parents won't allow or gets more time out of his bubble, he looks ready to follow exactly what Abbie plans for him.

Thanks for this perspective. I don't see him as rebelling either, really. I just think his apprenticeship with Shaun is his way of slowly inching towards some freedom (from his mother, but especially from having to parent five younger brothers) while keeping Braggie appeased. As to looking at going to college, I'm sure he has seen friends from his co-op starting down this road. They have had that opportunity. I can't believe he wouldn't at some point, however fleetingly, think "And why not me?"

Kendra’s mom looks to be one of those adults who retained her light blonde hair. To me, it does not look like it’s from a bottle. I have no problem with women coloring their hair, btw, as I’ve colored mine for decades. 
 

I don’t know, tho. Looked at lots of other photos of Christine Caldwell online and she does seem to have different shades of the light blonde so maybe it’s dyed. 
 

1 hour ago, Red Hair, Black Dress said:

My hope is that Ezra will go on his own (run Ezra run), because he realizes he needs a degree to be taken seriously as an IT professional.

Yes, the days of a well-paying, lifetime career in IT without a college degree or at least some post-secondary schooling are pretty much gone. Really hope that Ezra, and the other kids as they reach 18, can follow their dreams.

This will never happen in TX but boy would I love to see a state law (like IL's) passed that regulated parent influencers. If they did, then Braggie's kids might have a leaving-home fund for college or whatever.

On 4/27/2024 at 10:24 PM, HumbleJillyMuffin said:

My thoughts exactly. They don't strike me as the type to be vigilant about a super clean kitchen and food safety. 

They have never shown a picture of the kitchen or really even much of any other part of their apartment.  However, the few pics that show anything, show a cluttered and not clean space.  I can't imagine the kitchen is any better.  I don't think they spend any energy in keeping their place tidy and clean.  If they can't bathe, they sure aren't going to be cleaning. 

8 hours ago, MargieB said:

$5550.00 seems like a lot, especially with all the money they have asked for the last few years.   I cannot understand why people keep enabling them by sending them money.  They keep asking for more and more.  Their sense of entitlement is astonishing.

$5500 doesn't include plane tickets or apartment costs (already covered by someone).  So that ask is strictly for the moving company, a vet visit to get sedating meds for the cats for the plane and updating their IDs.  The fundraiser has been up for a day and no donations yet.  I am sure they will get some but I think their supporters are tired of the constant asks.  They aren't going to raise the $.  I don't know if they have a plan B if not enough money is raised.  They can't have much stuff.  I think they have a nice bed but that's about it.  I would just have the bed moved, sell everything else and get new stuff (2nd hand or free obviously) after they move.  My parents had a tenant that moved across the country and left all their beautiful furniture because it was just too expensive to move it vs buying new stuff.  Getting a new couch, a kitchen table and a few other misc pieces will be cheaper than moving everything.

One more thought.  Art baking pies to sell is good but is Ryann contributing in any way?  I know he is disabled and just had top surgery but Art should really try to include *something* that Ryann has done or will do.  Even if it is just "Ryann did our budget and then found us a really cute apartment complex we could afford.  He also researched veterinary practices in the area and found a low cost one for our cats".  Just Something!  I think Art carries all the physical and mental labor of this couple - at least that is the impression they give. 

Not sure the naturally blonde topic is weird as much as it’s confusing, for all the reasons stated by Jermajesty above. We have blondes in our family, white blondes, yellow blondes, dark blondes. (My biggest pet peeve of a description is “dishwater” blonde and I refuse to use it). I agree that a dark blonde can seem so much like a light brown, and yet I can distinguish a subtle, fairer color distinction in dark blondes.

Here’s a few photos of Kendra. The first, her wedding photo, to me looks like she had some kind of rinse put in her hair to brighten it. 
 

In the next photo, it’s almost an hombre coloring, lighter on the bottom but could just be lightened hair growing out. 

Lastly, a photo that could have been taken with some kind of filter since everyone looks kind of smoothed out.

*The one thing that struck me with her childhood photo is how much she still looks exactly the same. But I don’t see her hair color as being all that changed as an adult.