Michael Bates Courting!

[singsingsing]

Hope it hasn't been posted yet! It's on the Bates family blog. Man, they're going to go broke from all these weddings!

[Coconut Flan]

I think she's one of the few that I'm able to say good for her. I was afraid she was going to be left behind but I think a family life is what she really wants.

[VeryNikeSeamstress]

Go Michael!! I hope she's happy. After watching her younger sisters get into courtships I worried that she would be a SAHD forever.

Bates Family: 2 weddings, 2 courtships

Duggars: 1 wedding, 1 courtship.

Time to catch up!

[Guest]

Whaaaat?! I'm shocked! I had the feeling that she would stick around for awhile out of choice.

Brandon Keilen makes sense though.

Good for her. She seems to be the kind of girl who really flourishes in this lifestyle, so I feel like she'll be happy. I hope she can keep an open mind though that someday her own children might not fit so comfortably into the wife/mother mold like she does and allow them to have other options.

[singsingsing]

I also think Michael is one of the lucky ones who genuinely enjoys the lifestyle. Does anyone know anything about the Keilens? The name sounds familiar but maybe that's just because one of his sisters was a bridesmaid for Erin? The guy is freaking adorable in any case, as shallow as I know it sounds, and if they do end up getting married they will have gorgeous children. I don't understand why they have to do all this hokey romantic crap, it would make me horribly embarrassed, but hopefully she enjoyed it...

Alyssa will probably be getting engaged soon. I would be surprised if Michael wasn't engaged by the end of the year. I can't imagine Lawson and Nathan waiting around much longer, and Tori is 18 now. Yeah, if the Duggars want to compete with the Bateses, they've got A LOT of catching up to do.

[RosyDaisy]

She looks happy in those pictures. I was not expecting this.

[love2scrap]

She looks lovely and happy!

Totallly shallow here but another score for the bates in the good-looking son-in-law department

[singsingsing]

I was totally shocked, too. I was shocked that there was even another courtship announcement (thought for sure the next few posts would be about Zach's wedding, then maybe how the newlyweds are all settling in, then Alyssa's engagement) and I also thought that the next courtship would be Lawson or Nathan.

[Guest]

Brandon seems to be into ATI. He wrote this for Journey:

http://livingthejourney.com/journey-on/ ... -the-lord/

They also seem to live close to Frankenmuth, MI. That's definitely where some of the pictures are from, and they visited when Michael was there last year.

ETA: Yes, her sister was Erin's bridesmaid. I believe Erin visited them in the summer. Either them or someone else in the saker area of Michigan.

[VeryNikeSeamstress]

Yeah, they're a really cute couple and they look happy. I know she doesn't like being in the limelight and hopes she can have a nice quiet wedding if that's what she wants.

[Guest]

He travelled to Russia for 3 weeks last year with a mission group. Here's his bio on the website

Brandon Keilen | Dewitt, MI | USA

Brandon is a young man with a love for the Word of God. He has a passion to see the eyes of others opened to its rich truths. He has a heart for international ministry and a burden from the Lord to preach. He has served with an international ministry for the past 4 years and is currently studying at the International Ministerial Institute in Texas.

The Bates visited their family in 2011, then Michael went alone this summer.

[artdecades]

I don't know him, but she seems happy. What is his story? How old is he? Does he have a job?

[Guest]

According to the internets, he was born in 1989, which puts him at 24. Michael will be 24 later this month. His family has 10 children. They don't seem super duper frumper fundie, but are definitely pretty fundie. I should probably stop stalking him on Google now.

[Kira]

This is shocking news! I'm happy for Michael. I think there will be another Bates courtship before the year is over.

[lilith]

She looks really happy - happier than I've ever seen her. And yes, he's very handsome.

Poor Callie, she really is going to lose both her big sisters, and it looks like Michael will be moving much further away than Erin.

[lilith]

And he's already saying "I love you". I would bet on a short courtship.

He seems to be quite the romantic. I wonder what he'll arrange for the proposal?

[Coconut Flan]

Michelle and Jim Bob need to quit being so self-centered and begin really paying attention to other families or hire Kelly as a matchmaker.

[Milly-Molly-Mandy]

Wow I am happy for her! Sunnysideup, keep up the google stalking ;)

[Whipple]

Yes thanks Sunnyside up! I've been wondering, are the Bates more willing to have their daughter's court because it means fewer mouths to feed? They were having difficulty coming up with money for groceries and accepted help from their son. I don't care how one slices it, a new baby in the home means more money. I think they reached a breaking point and when their show was cancelled, they had few options left. Kelly is always smiling but I bet times have been touch.

Enough with the cynicism. I am glad Michael has found someone who loves her. Still I'm sad he's a fundie.

[marmalade]

I also thought of the financial aspects of letting another offspring who isn't a direct stream of revenue go. Zach was working at the metal fabrication place with Chad. Michael babysat and Erin taught piano to pay for college. Nathan is going to Clown College to become a preacher. No revenue stream with any of them other than Lawson...the only adult other than Nathan (and Tori, but she just turned 18) not in a relationship.

[Meghann]

Brandon Keilen

plus.google.com/117052692828949886684/posts

[halien13]

I wondered if there would be a Bates/Keilen courtship for a while now. Brandon escorted Kelly down the aisle at Erin's wedding and the Keilens have featured in lots of pictures lately. And Brandon's courtship proposal rivals Chad's wedding proposal! Anyone else notice that they're already holding hands? The Keilens have ten kids: Angie, RJ, Alison, Craig, Becky, Brent, Cara, Brandon, Christy and Amber. RJ is married with three kids. As far as I'm aware the rest are single. Becky was a bridesmaid in Erin's wedding and Christy and Amber were in the photos helping out in the kitchen. Several of them have worked for ATI and feature on Paine, Staddon, JttH etc... blogs.

My predictions:

-They get married before or at the same time as Alyssa and John

-Erin gets pregnant first, then Michael. Then after a while it'll be Whit, then Alyssa.

-Lawson will be next to court, then a bit of a gap, then Tori, Trace and Carlin in quick succession.

[Guest]

These seem to be the Keilen siblings. They go youngest to oldest, left to right. Amber, Christy, Brandon, Cara, Brent, Becky, Craig, Alison, RJ, and Angie. The parents are Jill and Ron. They go to First Baptist Church of St. John's in Michigan, where Ron is listed as an "elder." The only one who is married is RJ, who has 3 kids, but doesn't look fundie anymore. Some of the other older children don't seem all that fundie either. According to Amber's Facebook, she was home educated.

All of this, I should add, comes from public Facebook pages. Here's another family picture.

[lilith]

Gil and Kelly are going to have a dozen grandchildren before they know it.

[Arete]

At the risk of sounding like my great-uncle, how does he plan on supporting her? Not to mention their future quiver?