Michael Bates Courting!

[Katydid]

Re: marriage name change. Depends on the state. I wasn't able to change my middle name to my maiden name without filling a petition and getting Court approval, but I had friends in other states that did it by simply checking a box on their license application. I would imagine it would be very difficult for Michaela to change her first name at that time but I won't pretend to know Tennessee law

I had a similar experience. I couldn't change anything but my last name without going through the courts. This was actually really disappointing to find out, as I had been planning on changing my full name.

[sunshine]

Per Kelly, Brandon is in his last semester...so I wonder would be May or August. Since it appears, they are following a typical fundie plan...they should be engaged before November.

[Georgiana]

Per Kelly, Brandon is in his last semester...so I wonder would be May or August. Since it appears, they are following a typical fundie plan...they should be engaged before November.

I think it will be sooner. Most Bates courtships last only a few months, and they started courting in December/January. I think they'll get engaged around when he graduates if not sooner, he'll work on getting established, and she'll plan a fall/winter wedding.

[Coconut Flan]

I have a soft spot for Michaela and I hope she gets the wedding that she wants and that she's happy. I fear that other people may try to take over not listen to what she really wants.

[nausicaa]

I think it will be sooner. Most Bates courtships last only a few months, and they started courting in December/January. I think they'll get engaged around when he graduates if not sooner, he'll work on getting established, and she'll plan a fall/winter wedding.

For some reason, I've always just assumed it would be a fall/early winter wedding. Have I subconciously absorbed fundie marriage timelines, or was there a comment somewhere that Michael always wanted a fall wedding?

[formergothardite]

Per Kelly, Brandon is in his last semester...so I wonder would be May or August. Since it appears, they are following a typical fundie plan...they should be engaged before November.

I don't feel sorry for Kelly. I feel sorry for her kids who she raised to believe that the only way they can leave the home is to get married. I hope that these couples are really happy and aren't just desperate to escape.

[doubleT]

I wonder how the courtship is going. They have been courting for two months now and are well into the 3 month. I wonder if Michal has seen him since he asked her? I suspect she has been busy at home sewing for Alyssa's wedding.

[sunshine]

I can post references at this time because the Bate's site is down. Kelly mentioned that Brandon is in his last semester. No, there was no reference for a fall wedding but speculation since the courtship occurred without Michaela clearing knowing that Brandon is into her.

Per Kelly, it appears that Alyssa is buying bridal dresses rather than having them made. Kudos. I have seen how they made their dresses, I rather buy then have them made.

Brandon has visited Michaela for 'I love You Day,' so I would love to see what romantic gesture he has done for her.

[formergothardite]

I really can't imagine being a private person and having the romantic gestures my boyfriend did for me exposed by my mother on the internet so fan and snarkers can see. I don't think it is healthy to have big(ore even small) moments put out on the internet for strangers to gawk at and watch. It is one thing if it is for personal friends and family only, but I bet most of their readers don't know them.

[salex]

I really can't imagine being a private person and having the romantic gestures my boyfriend did for me exposed by my mother on the internet so fan and snarkers can see. I don't think it is healthy to have big(ore even small) moments put out on the internet for strangers to gawk at and watch. It is one thing if it is for personal friends and family only, but I bet most of their readers don't know them.

But if they don't have the blog, they can't have hundreds and hundreds of guests at the weddings, and send around the collection plate. Or use the "As seen on TV" in their campaign literature (because, without the blog, the TV show is way old news)

[formergothardite]

But if they don't have the blog, they can't have hundreds and hundreds of guests at the weddings, and send around the collection plate. Or use the "As seen on TV" in their campaign literature (because, without the blog, the TV show is way old news)

Much better to exploit the lives of their children than Gil and Kelly try and find steady jobs and the adult kids be encouraged to go to college and get jobs.

I feel really sorry for their kids. Even if they don't want their private life made public they probably feel like they don't have the choice to say no.

[salex]

Much better to exploit the lives of their children than Gil and Kelly try and find steady jobs and the adult kids be encouraged to go to college and get jobs.

I feel really sorry for their kids. Even if they don't want their private life made public they probably feel like they don't have the choice to say no.

I get the feeling a lot of these public fundie kids have zero choices in life or zero choices that matter. They study what their parents tell them, marry who their parents tell them, aren't sent to college nor do they pick careers but find jobs. The are not "launched" into life where they are encouraged to find the best life they can (even within the constraints of general Christianity). INstead, they seem to be assimilated, like the Borg, into a religion where the men are supposed to be one way, the women are all supposed to be another way and the children are all above average, LOL! They become more or less interchangeable generic Christians..... and any sort of individualism is stomped out.

I am suddenly reminded of the scene in "A Wrinkle in Time" where the little boy is bouncing his ball "wrong"... I can see Michael Pearl and his followers punishing him severely for not playing correctly. My god, these people creep me out...and they want to run the world. I suspect I'll be dead before they do, but I hate to think of it happening.

[lizziesmom]

I really can't imagine being a private person and having the romantic gestures my boyfriend did for me exposed by my mother on the internet so fan and snarkers can see. I don't think it is healthy to have big(ore even small) moments put out on the internet for strangers to gawk at and watch. It is one thing if it is for personal friends and family only, but I bet most of their readers don't know them.

Nothing is private though. Mom and Dad are present for the proposal and the couple is chaperoned every step of the courtship.

[formergothardite]

Nothing is private though. Mom and Dad are present for the proposal and the couple is chaperoned every step of the courtship.

I know. It is just sad. These are adults and they can't have one moment alone. They can't make decisions without being made to feel guilty over not following their parents. It is a sad lifestyle and I can't see how anyone who really knows about it can admire these families.

[mausi]

I realize this is an old thread, but I was just reading through it and then just happened to read this on Kelly's blog:

Kelly January 11, 2014 at 11:46 pm

Dear Nicole,

Her legal name is Michael Christan. In letters, as she got older, I started switching to Michaella in writing just so her gender wouldn’t be confused. She prefers Michael now, though. Although her siblings rarely use her full name. She usually is referred to as “Mickey†or “Mikey.†Love, Kelly

Are her first and second names both traditionally male names? I don't know any females with Christan/Christian as a name. I know there was some ignorance with the spelling involved in her first name, but haven't heard anything about the second. It strikes me as quite odd, given the family's obsession about proper gender roles.

[salex]

Are her first and second names both traditionally male names? I don't know any females with Christan/Christian as a name. I know there was some ignorance with the spelling involved in her first name, but haven't heard anything about the second. It strikes me as quite odd, given the family's obsession about proper gender roles.

I actually was named Christian for the first hour or so of my life (they had been debating that and the pagan name I ended up with) and mom rechecked with dad before they finalized the birth certificate. I would have been Christi or Christy, I"m sure.

[doubleT]

I can post references at this time because the Bate's site is down. Kelly mentioned that Brandon is in his last semester. No, there was no reference for a fall wedding but speculation since the courtship occurred without Michaela clearing knowing that Brandon is into her.

Per Kelly, it appears that Alyssa is buying bridal dresses rather than having them made. Kudos. I have seen how they made their dresses, I rather buy then have them made.

Brandon has visited Michaela for 'I love You Day,' so I would love to see what romantic gesture he has done for her.

Thanks for the update. I'm glad Alyssa is getting the dresses she wants and that Michael doesn't have to make them! Did Kelly do a post for "I Love You Day"?

[IReallyAmHopewell]

The Bates sight is down. I joked elsewhere that they were removing any references to Gothard, but maybe it's locked down for the new TV Season starting April 1? Seems odd that with all the courting and a grandchild on the way they would be down.

[BirthingGodsWarriors]

Ive noticed that when most bloggers sites are down they generally take that time to update the cover photos, design and or layout of the blog. Kelly did this same thing last time she updated the blog. Here's to hoping they used all of the weddings as a chance to take new professional family photos. I mean those younger babies must have changed so much. Last I remember they looked like carbon copies of Gil.

[BirthingGodsWarriors]

Nevermind it looks like the blog is back up an with no noticeable changes so likely it was a got hard scrub job (which I realize after typing that may be the worst mental image I could create).

[uber frau]

I actually was named Christian for the first hour or so of my life (they had been debating that and the pagan name I ended up with) and mom rechecked with dad before they finalized the birth certificate. I would have been Christi or Christy, I"m sure.

I presumed 'Christan' was a funkyarse spelling of Kristen. Kristen is a fairly common girls name, or at least it was in the eighties.

[mausi]

I presumed 'Christan' was a funkyarse spelling of Kristen. Kristen is a fairly common girls name, or at least it was in the eighties.

Ah, good thinking, that super speshul spelling option never even crossed my mind.

[Nerthe]

I presumed 'Christan' was a funkyarse spelling of Kristen. Kristen is a fairly common girls name, or at least it was in the eighties.

In Germany, Christian is a proper and very common male name. It is never used for girls, the female version of it is Christina or Christine or similar.

[nellautumngirl]

In Germany, Christian is a proper and very common male name. It is never used for girls, the female version of it is Christina or Christine or similar.

Or Kristin or Kristina. One of my middle names is actually Christina, it's very common.

[peanut gallery]

In Germany, Christian is a proper and very common male name. It is never used for girls, the female version of it is Christina or Christine or similar.

Yep, I had a roommate from Germany named Christin but she pronounced it as Christine. Her replacement happened to be another German girl named Kristin. She also pronounces it as Christine.