Michael Bates Courting!

[Miggy]

I'm so happy for her! I shouldn't be this happy for someone I don't even know. Michael just seems like she will be so happy as a SAHM.

[lilith]

I'm so happy for her! I shouldn't be this happy for someone I don't even know. Michael just seems like she will be so happy as a SAHM.

We really know almost nothing about Michael except that she's shy. Kelly has also told us that she loves kids and sewing, but all fundie mothers say that their daughters love kids. Plus, loving kids doesn't necessarily translate to wanting a bulging quiver of ones own.

Michael is glowing and looks very happy in the pictures on the courtship post, and I hope her happiness lasts, but the general impression here that she's a natural born SAHM who will be thrilled with an option free, education free, life as a submissive mother of many is really based on very little.

[Milly-Molly-Mandy]

RJ is HOT!

[Milly-Molly-Mandy]

Also good work sunny side up. Any ages of the family?

[lilith]

RJ is HOT!

He sure is, those Bates girls know how to pick them physically, at least.

And he seems absolutely devoted to Michael.

[Sola]

Blimey, in that first photo they look like brother and sister!

[ari_belle]

Honestly, I don't think Chad is that attractive...but that's just me. This guy, however, is cute.

[Luisainlondon1]

I wasn't expecting that and I'm very happy for Michael. It shows that Gil and Kelly really put their children first. Kelly mentioned several times that Michael helps a lot raising the kids, cooking, sewing and so on (she even asked her to rest more because she does so much).

What I meant to say is that I can't imagine that with the Duggars. Boob and Mullet are so dependent on their oldest girls. Jessa is 'allowed' to be in a courtship but for me it somehow appears that they only want to show that they too care about they kids. Let's pretend that within a couple of months three suitors would come to Boob and ask for his daughter's hands just like it has happened with the Bates. Boob would never allow them to get married. Or maybe he would but definitely not Mullet. She wouldn't be able to keep her household running just by herself.

Maybe I'm totally wrong with that but that is the reason I really like the Bateses (of course just as much as you can 'like' fundies). I do think they really care for each other.

edited: fix a typo

[Guest LilaFowler]

Honestly, I don't think Chad is that attractive...but that's just me. This guy, however, is cute.

Agreed.

[VincentvanGoGo]

Becky was also in the wedding of David&Priscilla and was mentioned to be "prayer partner" to Priscilla in David's blog. I was just wondering who she is ('cause I have no life, of course).

I hope Michael and Brandon have a happy life together.

[SnarkySarah27]

The guy in the plain white top (Craig?) is HOT!

[Luisainlondon1]

The guy in the plain white top (Craig?) is HOT!

Agree! He is HOT!

[Arete]

I really take a hard line to both the the Bates's and Duggar's use of their eldest daughters to raise their parents' younger children. Kelly's gratitude toward Micheal's contributions doesn't make her reproductive choices any less despicable. And her choice to continue having children she no longer had the time, space, or money to properly parent was indeed despicable. Her older daughters were robbed of their childhoods to raise their siblings. In the religious environment they have been raised in, they are not allowed to feel used or cheated.

I hope this young man treats Micheal with far more consideration than her parents.

[ari_belle]

I really take a hard line to both the the Bates's and Duggar's use of their eldest daughters to raise their parents' younger children. Kelly's gratitude toward Micheal's contributions doesn't make her reproductive choices any less despicable. And her choice to continue having children she no longer had the time, space, or money to properly parent was indeed despicable. Her older daughters were robbed of their childhoods to raise their siblings. In the religious environment they have been raised in, they are not allowed to feel used or cheated.

I hope this young man treats Micheal with far more consideration than her parents.

This. Let's hope Michael is treated like a queen by this guy and doesn't perpetuate the cycle with her children one day.

[FrancineFishpaw]

Wow! This sure woke me up! Glad to see Michael and this very cute guy courting and already holding hands! I suspect Alyssa will get her engagement ring on Valentine's Day.

[formergothardite]

I really take a hard line to both the the Bates's and Duggar's use of their eldest daughters to raise their parents' younger children. Kelly's gratitude toward Micheal's contributions doesn't make her reproductive choices any less despicable. And her choice to continue having children she no longer had the time, space, or money to properly parent was indeed despicable. Her older daughters were robbed of their childhoods to raise their siblings. In the religious environment they have been raised in, they are not allowed to feel used or cheated.

I hope this young man treats Micheal with far more consideration than her parents.

Exactly. And really, I am pretty sure that if the Duggars didn't have so much money they would doing this exact same thing, so I'm not sure why marrying their kids off super fast is a sign of being better parents. They still exploited and used their children for money and childcare. If the Bates were traveling around making money as presenting themselves as one big group like the Duggars do does anyone really think there would be all these marriages? They are in a different situation financially(and it seems like they started off much, much poorer than the Duggars) so of course they are going to handle adult children differently, it really doesn't mean that they care about their kids anymore than Jim Bob and Michelle.

[ILoveJellybeans]

Bates courtships are always so adorable.

Good for you Michael :)

[divadivine]

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.

It's researching, not stalking. Stalking sounds so negative. You're researching!

[lilith]

Exactly. And really, I am pretty sure that if the Duggars didn't have so much money they would doing this exact same thing, so I'm not sure why marrying their kids off super fast is a sign of being better parents. They still exploited and used their children for money and childcare. If the Bates were traveling around making money as presenting themselves as one big group like the Duggars do does anyone really think there would be all these marriages? They are in a different situation financially(and it seems like they started off much, much poorer than the Duggars) so of course they are going to handle adult children differently, it really doesn't mean that they care about their kids anymore than Jim Bob and Michelle.

I suspect that the middle Bates girls reaching adolescence softens the blow of losing the labor of the older daughters for the Bates. The Duggars only have Joyanna, then a huge clump of boys to deal with before Hannie is old enough to take over the J slave duties.

[Peas n carrots]

The Bates truly care about their kids more than the Duggars? It's like a race to the bottom. Don't forget Gil & Kelly borrowing $$$ from Lawson because Gil couldn't support the family himself. Or asking for cash as Erin's wedding reception to pay for the honeymoon. And I don't believe for a second Kelly didn't lean heavily on her older daughters for child care. As another poster mentioned, Kelly has the luxury of having a couple teenage daughters that can now take over some of the duties, while the Duggars have the older daughters and a passel of boys. If the Bates were in the same situation they might not be so willing to marry off their older daughters as well.

In any case, I wish the best for Michael and hope she is happy and she is treated well.

[nellautumngirl]

I suspect that the middle Bates girls reaching adolescence softens the blow of losing the labor of the older daughters for the Bates. The Duggars only have Joyanna, then a huge clump of boys to deal with before Hannie is old enough to take over the J slave duties.

I think Michelle is even too lazy to properly prepare Joy and Johannah for their future tasks. They just rely on the system that has been working for 15+ years, but that is going to be a problem once Jessa and maybe one more J-slave move out. When Jana was a year and a half older than Hannie, she was already caring for the younger ones full time. There are no babies left now, but Josie, Jordyn, Jennifer and Jackson still would need a lot of attention, at least to prevent another accident like Jason's. Jackson doesn't seem to be the smartest..

[nelliebelle1197]

Honestly, I don't think Chad is that attractive...but that's just me. This guy, however, is cute.

Chad was cute in some of the earlier pictures, but after seeing lots of pictures, I agree. Brandon is much better looking and a couple of his brothers and sisters are stunning.

[Avalondaughter]

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.

Sleeveless tops and pants! Maybe there is hope.

[Coldest Winter]

Hurray for her! I hope she is very happy..they look cute together.

And hurray for no more Chad and Erin wedding photos. :lol:

[nelliebelle1197]

I really take a hard line to both the the Bates's and Duggar's use of their eldest daughters to raise their parents' younger children. Kelly's gratitude toward Micheal's contributions doesn't make her reproductive choices any less despicable. And her choice to continue having children she no longer had the time, space, or money to properly parent was indeed despicable. Her older daughters were robbed of their childhoods to raise their siblings. In the religious environment they have been raised in, they are not allowed to feel used or cheated.

I hope this young man treats Micheal with far more consideration than her parents.

Thank you, ArteJo.