Alyssa & John: Life With Three Daughters

[HermioneSparrow]

I'm in shock.

Maybe John went trick or treating as a kid and wanted his daughters to enjoy the same?

[Melissa1977]

I'm not in shock at all. John and Alyssa keep a mainstream way of life while holding terrible politic beliefs. Alyssa is open to change whatever she needs and fancies to change. She has changed clothing style no matter she was raised to believe short dresses and pants were a sin. She is working no matter she was raised to believe a mother could only stay at home. But she's sharing the hateful social and politics views because it does not bother her. The moment she'll be not comfortable with another rule/belief, she'll change it. 

She can be vain and selfish, but she's flexible and at least it can be a little improvement for her daugthers.

[formergothardite]

I'm not shocked either. Not all fundies are against things like trick or treating. I grew up with it being the norm even after my parents joined IBLP. 

 I think the whole Bates family has relaxed a great deal on many of those issues. there was a live video where one of the questions they discussed was favorite Halloween candy. 

[freethemall]

I was shocked only if because for a minute when I was going through Instagram stories, I thought there's was just another one of the dozens of normal people I know in real life showing their little ones going trick or treating. And then I realized it was a fundie and had to back track, because this is not a normal Bates tradition.

Even if she is going mainstream but maintaining fundamentalist beliefs, it's still strange each time she ditches one of those beliefs, however small (but likely huge for her).

[JermajestyDuggar]

I’m surprised that he called it halloween. It seems more fundie to call it something like “fall festival” while celebrating Halloween exactly like everyone else. 

[HarleyQuinn]

I mean it kind of makes sense. Go door to door for free stuff, Gil Bates would be all about that. 

[habert]

i wonder if Alyssa is absent because she’s still not sold on Halloween or if it’s for some other innocuous reason. 

[artdecades]

IDK, I find it pretty surprising. More shocking than pants to me. A lot of non-Fundie Christians are against Halloween.  This is quite the departure.

[SassyPants]

Personally I think the Websters (John's people) are just a lot more mainstream. His father would have to be seen as rather mainstream, Central Floridian Christian in order to be a Congressman. I'm not saying their beliefs are not hateful and harmful, but these folks just live in a world that is more mainstream than how Alyssa was raised. And who knows, as time goes by, maybe John and Alyssa's personal beliefs might evolve too. First thing they could do is to slow down the reproduction train.

[Hisey]

Seems funny the girls are using supermarket bags for trick or treating, instead of perfectly coordinated, matching cloth Halloween bags bought on etsy. I suspect John coordinated the whole thing.

[Kelsey]

Alyssa was probably cleaning offices and John was bored so he decided to take the girls trick or treating on the fly (otherwise they'd have fancy special bags not grocery store bags, imo)

[Johannah]

It also looks like they’re just wearing dress up clothes they already had lying around rather than pre-planned coordinated costumes

[nokidsmom]

I am not shocked at all.  In fact, the 2 older girls are at ages where they can enjoy trick or treating.   And why not take Zoey along?  

John looks to be a pretty involved dad, so I don't find it odd that he posted about it and not Alyssa.  Maybe Alyssa was busy at her cleaning job or something.    I don't think that John did it out of boredom but more likely he did because it's what Dads do.   And he experienced it himself as a kid.   And some adults have more fun with Halloween than the kids.   

[HereticHick]

1 hour ago, Kelsey said:

Alyssa was probably cleaning offices and John was bored so he decided to take the girls trick or treating on the fly (otherwise they'd have fancy special bags not grocery store bags, imo)

Or--she was home giving out candy!

[freethemall]

39 minutes ago, nokidsmom said:

I am not shocked at all.  In fact, the 2 older girls are at ages where they can enjoy trick or treating.   And why not take Zoey along?  

John looks to be a pretty involved dad, so I don't find it odd that he posted about it and not Alyssa.  Maybe Alyssa was busy at her cleaning job or something.    I don't think that John did it out of boredom but more likely he did because it's what Dads do.   And he experienced it himself as a kid.   And some adults have more fun with Halloween than the kids.   

It's what normal, non-fundie dads do - I would argue it is very much NOT what fundamentalist Christian dads do. Can you imagine Jim Bob, David Rodrigues, Gil Bates, Steve Maxwell, Derrick Dillard (maybe), or Chad Paine taking the kids trick-or-treating?

"Involved" is also not a word I'd use with typical fundie dads - that's the mother's or even sister mom's sphere.

[JermajestyDuggar]

Kori and Drew Wissmann didn’t take Wyatt trick or treating but they did dress him up and go to Chipotle for a discounted Burrito. I am surprised more fundies don’t do that instead of Halloween. Sure it’s not CFA but fundies like to dress up for free stuff (pirates and cows).

I want to add that the Miller family and the Flanders family both handed out candy and tracts for Halloween. Some fundies disagree with this because they think you shouldn’t participate at all. 

[HerNameIsBuffy]

11 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I want to add that the Miller family and the Flanders family both handed out candy and tracts for Halloween.

I always appreciated when the tracts came with candy.

When I was a kid one of our neighbors was a dentist and we always got new toothbrushes and sample sized tubes of Crest.  

[BeccaGrim]

I bet you this is a  case of John did it  as a child, and their neighborhood gets together to do it.  Like they go up and down the block and then back home. They're probably just following the example of what John did.  And maybe they do something I've had to put up with with my kids which is some houses give out bible versus with their candy. I hate that! 

[nokidsmom]

1 hour ago, freethemall said:

It's what normal, non-fundie dads do - I would argue it is very much NOT what fundamentalist Christian dads do. Can you imagine Jim Bob, David Rodrigues, Gil Bates, Steve Maxwell, Derrick Dillard (maybe), or Chad Paine taking the kids trick-or-treating?

"Involved" is also not a word I'd use with typical fundie dads - that's the mother's or even sister mom's sphere.

It does seem that John was out there with the kids but I agree with the list of above fundie dads that they would not/most likely not take their kids trick or treating.

Jim Bob - delegates to the sister moms

David Rodrigues - send the kids out alone but eats the candy they bring

Gil Bates - too busy grifting or on another "getaway" with Kelly

Steve Maxwell - Candy is an idol

Derrick Dillard - too busy tweeting but he might do it

Chad Paine - actually I think he might do some other "fundie approved" activity

 

[formergothardite]

1 hour ago, freethemall said:

Can you imagine Jim Bob, David Rodrigues, Gil Bates, Steve Maxwell, Derrick Dillard (maybe), or Chad Paine taking the kids trick-or-treating?

Can you imagine most of the fundie moms in those families taking kids out trick or treating, though? 

Michelle - she is buddy to whatever the baby is and would send the sister moms 

Kelly - she isn't even buddy to a baby but is off on a mini-vacation with Gil leaving the sister moms to do the work

Terrie - the Moody book description of a mother playing hide and seek with her kids was almost certainly based on how Terrie behaved, she would be in shut in her room. The kids would have to take themselves trick or treating. 

Jill Rod - would go but would make the entire thing all about her and then the children would "decide" to give all their candy to their mother. 

I could see Erin and Jill taking the kids out trick or treating, but I could also see Derick and Chad doing it. 

My dad always took us trick or treating while my mom stayed home. I think she just needed time alone. 

 

[JermajestyDuggar]

I can see Erin and Chad doing a trunk or treat through their church. 

[FloraDoraDolly]

8 hours ago, artdecades said:

IDK, I find it pretty surprising. More shocking than pants to me. A lot of non-Fundie Christians are against Halloween.  This is quite the departure.

I agree. I have never heard of a fundie family that allowed their kids to celebrate Halloween. Even among fundie-lite and evangelical Christians, there are many who view Halloween as satanic but they will attend a Harvest/Fall Festival at their church where the kids dress up (not as anything ebil), play games, have cider & donuts, and come home with a bag of treats.

[Rachel333]

Our church had a "Heavenly Harvest Festival" instead of Halloween. 

[nickelodeon]

Presby homeschoolers have REFORMATION DAY, the shittiest of the replacement halloweens.

[nokidsmom]

2 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I can see Erin and Chad doing a trunk or treat through their church. 

Yep, this was what I had in mind when I stated that Chad might do something more fundie approved for Halloween.  I think this would be more Cherin's thing.

The church down the road from me had their trunk or treat over the past weekend.