Zach and Whitney Bates: Part 5

[VelociRapture]

5 hours ago, crazysnark said:

Yes I think it was the pregnancy announcement. He wouldn't tease an engagement that hadn't happened yet.

@ColeJoDo you remember where you saw this reference? Was it on his Instagram stories or Facebook Live?

[ColeJo]

@VelociRapture From what I can remember, it was a FB Live that he did on his own on the BUB page. At 1:45 in the linked video, there is a shoutout to someone in Utah, so he mentioned that he was doing something for his music in Utah. I just heard Utah, and then the proposal happened in Utah. Sorry about that.

[VelociRapture]

5 minutes ago, ColeJo said:

@VelociRapture From what I can remember, it was a FB Live that he did on his own on the BUB page. At 1:45 in the linked video, there is a shoutout to someone in Utah, so he mentioned that he was doing something for his music in Utah. I just heard Utah, and then the proposal happened in Utah. Sorry about that.

No worries! That’s a really weird coincidence though. 

[ophelia]

On 6/25/2018 at 11:30 PM, VelociRapture said:

You’re right. I found the post on the family blog:

https://thebatesfamily.com/2013/07/courtship-chronicle/

Thank you, @VelociRapture, for digging out this old blog post. A few things that came to my mind:

1) I had totally forgotten that matching outfits for couples (especially courting couples) was still a thing in 2013. Damn, Zach and Whitney have come a long way fashion wise. Especially Whit.

2) It seems like Whit is back in contact and quite close with her bio parents. What happened to the family that adopted her? In the blog post it says that this family has 11 kids and you can see one of her sisters in that picture. I wonder if the still has contact to her siblings. Does anybody have some more information about that?

[VelociRapture]

2 hours ago, ophelia said:

Thank you, @VelociRapture, for digging out this old blog post. A few things that came to my mind:

1) I had totally forgotten that matching outfits for couples (especially courting couples) was still a thing in 2013. Damn, Zach and Whitney have come a long way fashion wise. Especially Whit.

2) It seems like Whit is back in contact and quite close with her bio parents. What happened to the family that adopted her? In the blog post it says that this family has 11 kids and you can see one of her sisters in that picture. I wonder if the still has contact to her siblings. Does anybody have some more information about that?

I’ve posted about it in the family summaries thread. They’re the second summary from the top:

Long story short: no. We don’t know very much about what happened because Whitney hasn’t chosen to speak publicly about it. 

[HarleyQuinn]

I think Whitney would cringe at that floor length denim skirt now. 

[freethemall]

8 hours ago, ophelia said:

Thank you, @VelociRapture, for digging out this old blog post. A few things that came to my mind:

1) I had totally forgotten that matching outfits for couples (especially courting couples) was still a thing in 2013. Damn, Zach and Whitney have come a long way fashion wise. Especially Whit.

 

I would say matching outfits are still a thing (now with the whole family), but they've just gotten WAY better at it:

[LillyP]

12 minutes ago, freethemall said:

I would say matching outfits are still a thing (now with the whole family), but they've just gotten WAY better at it:



The bottom photo is a professional family photo, so it makes total sense they'd be matching or at least coordinated. I'm a family and wedding photographer....all of my clients show up to photos coordinating or matching in some way. As for the top photo, it's obviously for a holiday. I don't ever see them matching in day to day photos.  I think there might still be some sheltered from social media fundies who still do the whole matchy matchy thing but it doesn't seem like any of the Duggars or Bates are doing it these days.

[freethemall]

1 hour ago, LillyP said:

The bottom photo is a professional family photo, so it makes total sense they'd be matching or at least coordinated. I'm a family and wedding photographer....all of my clients show up to photos coordinating or matching in some way. As for the top photo, it's obviously for a holiday. I don't ever see them matching in day to day photos.  I think there might still be some sheltered from social media fundies who still do the whole matchy matchy thing but it doesn't seem like any of the Duggars or Bates are doing it these days.

The photos in the "Courtship Chronicle" where they're wearing matching yellow shirts are from a photo shoot and special event too.

[neurogirl]

Zach and Whit continue to look great...and not pregnant. 

 

[VBOY9977]

51 minutes ago, neurogirl said:

Zach and Whit continue to look great...and not pregnant. 

 

I mean, she definitely could be in the early stages of pregnancy, but at least there will be a big age gap between their third and Kaci. I keep wondering how many kids they’ll have, because they’re still really young. My guess is 4 but I go back and forth. 

[HereticHick]

In a comment on that pic, Whit said her dress is from Altar'd State.  I've never seen an Altar'd State store and had only vaguely heard of them, so I enjoyed reading this article just now, even though its a few years old: 

https://www.racked.com/2015/9/9/9280177/altard-state-christian-fashion-stores

The Massive, Secretive Christian Clothing Chain You’ve Never Heard Of

[Melissa1977]

She may be 3 months pregnant. So Kaci will be 2.5 years old and Bradley 4 when baby #3 comes. It's not bad, probably Kaci will be potty trained. But it's a lot of work and makes working more difficult.

I predict a bigger gap between #3 and #4. 

I also predict an Erin pregnancy in summer 2018 , Josie's pregnancy in January 2019, Tori pregnancy summer 2019 and Michael pregnancy autumm 2019. I still have hope for Alyssa haha.

[Pecansforeveryone]

Oh my gosh, that little cutie pie is killing me with his little smile and bow tie! For Michael's sake, I hope a healthy pregnancy becomes a reality for her. 

[BeccaGrim]

What is the Gothard-ian/Cult take on adopting? Is that an option for Michael? 

[Melissa1977]

1 hour ago, BeccaGrim said:

What is the Gothard-ian/Cult take on adopting? Is that an option for Michael? 

Michael said she is open to adopt. But some women (fundie or not) really desire to have a biological baby. If you really really dream to be pregnant, it's not a good idea to adopt quickly, because you may feel frustrated with the baby or with yourself. What psycologists recommend is to try to get pregnant and only if it's impossible, then try to adopt AFTER a therapy to heal the sadness and the frustration. It's the supposed right way, despite many adoptions are not following these steps.

Anyway, doctor Vick said Michael and Brandon were healthy and ready for a pregnancy. Sometimes the stress can be a huge factor for not getting pregnant. And sometimes it is just bad luck. I know couples who have been trying for years and then got pregnant with no medical help.

I think Michael will get pregnant eventually. Probably after her first baby, she will relax and next baby will come faster. Anyway, how old is she? If she has her firstborn at 30 years old, even if she stays quiverful, she will have a small family for Bates standards.

I hope they don't adopt. They are really strict. Mix it with the trauma of infertility and they can become really hard parents. On the other hand, a so long wished pregnancy may turn they a bit soft.

[QuiverDance]

4 hours ago, HereticHick said:

In a comment on that pic, Whit said her dress is from Altar'd State.  I've never seen an Altar'd State store and had only vaguely heard of them, so I enjoyed reading this article just now, even though its a few years old: 

https://www.racked.com/2015/9/9/9280177/altard-state-christian-fashion-stores

The Massive, Secretive Christian Clothing Chain You’ve Never Heard Of

We have one of these in our mall.  Had no idea it was Christian.  The clothes are very boho and super cute, and I've browsed in there several times.  Now I'm kind of turned off.   

 

 

 

 

 

[melon]

41 minutes ago, Melissa1977 said:

Michael said she is open to adopt. But some women (fundie or not) really desire to have a biological baby. If you really really dream to be pregnant, it's not a good idea to adopt quickly, because you may feel frustrated with the baby or with yourself. What psycologists recommend is to try to get pregnant and only if it's impossible, then try to adopt AFTER a therapy to heal the sadness and the frustration. It's the supposed right way, despite many adoptions are not following these steps.

Anyway, doctor Vick said Michael and Brandon were healthy and ready for a pregnancy. Sometimes the stress can be a huge factor for not getting pregnant. And sometimes it is just bad luck. I know couples who have been trying for years and then got pregnant with no medical help.

I think Michael will get pregnant eventually. Probably after her first baby, she will relax and next baby will come faster. Anyway, how old is she? If she has her firstborn at 30 years old, even if she stays quiverful, she will have a small family for Bates standards.

I hope they don't adopt. They are really strict. Mix it with the trauma of infertility and they can become really hard parents. On the other hand, a so long wished pregnancy may turn they a bit soft.

Michael is 28.

[Hisey]

3 hours ago, Melissa1977 said:

 

I hope they don't adopt. They are really strict. Mix it with the trauma of infertility and they can become really hard parents. On the other hand, a so long wished pregnancy may turn they a bit soft.

Why would infertility cause them to be ultra-strict with an adopted baby, and "soft" with a biological one? Because they don't really want the adopted baby, and it's "second-best"?

I haven't seen it play out that way. I know a ton of people who adopted after infertility. Their children are gods to them, miracles. I suspect that people who have a biological child after infertility are much the same.

I don't want Michael to adopt or give birth. She and Brandon seem really hard-assed,and I pity the poor kid who is subject to their blanket-training, PVC-pipe-wielding childbearing methods.

[Melissa1977]

@Hisey while I think they would.be strict with both, I think a bio kid would be seen as a miracle after all the struggling and prayers and it could make trainings start later or be slightly softer. On the other side, an adoption would be absolutely second option and I see them behaving passive agressive about that. 

Michael wants a newborn so badly and it's not easy to adopt a newborn. If she is given an older baby or a toddler, she won't fulfil her dream. In addition, I wonder if they would feel comfortable with a non white baby for example.

Yes, some people (many people probably) consider their adopted kids as treasures, but adoption is not an easy way, especially when this way is chosen because infertility.

[QuiverDance]

I think Michaella is human enough that she won’t need a newborn to feel like she has a gift. Infertility changes a person.  I hope through her prayer and introspection in this time she will learn about herself, which will definitely make her a better parent. 

[llucie]

I dont think they are THAT strict. When the brothers and sisters have visited they made and effort to put the kids to bed early everyday and making them eat vegetables and fruits, but appart from that the children seem very happy everytime they visit, and like they are having a good time.

[formergothardite]

19 hours ago, BeccaGrim said:

What is the Gothard-ian/Cult take on adopting? Is that an option for Michael? 

Originally Gothard was fairly anti-adoption but he cut it short of saying it was totally wrong. Any ATI family that wanted to adopt had to first contact the Institute and discuss it with them. Gothard had a booklet on adoption that was fairly doom and gloom. He warned that adopted children would bring the sins of their fathers into the home. Now that adoption is trending among fundies and evangelicals, that belief has pretty much fallen to the side and I doubt they push it anymore. 

[Hisey]

2 hours ago, llucie said:

I dont think they are THAT strict. When the brothers and sisters have visited they made and effort to put the kids to bed early everyday and making them eat vegetables and fruits, but appart from that the children seem very happy everytime they visit, and like they are having a good time.

They are being filmed. The camera crew was about five feet away from them.

[Pecansforeveryone]

The evangelical crowd faced some pushback on abortion, i.e."Would you be willing to adopt these children or just stand around and preach?" Some were shamed into adopting to prove they really cared. Others saw it as extension of their "white savior" complex adopting from Africa and China. Others, I am sure, had the best of intentions and wanted nothing more than to give a child a loving home. The book, Child Catchers by Kathryn Joyce, was very eye opening on this. The biggest revelation being that many of the orphans are not technically orphans. The Pearls are mentioned in a chapter and Micheal Pearl was quoted by the author.