Mortons 4: Addie's Finally Married and All the Mortons Are MAGAts

[fundiefan]

I just read Kennedy's description of the first adoption. 

How in the name of Lucifer did they 1) imagine that getting a baby within two months of deciding to adopt was even possible? and 2) WTF that it turned out to be 90 days later. 

What legitimate adoption happens that quickly? In a way that they get four "options" to choose from?

There was definitely some shady shit in that process. 

http://chocolatehugsandkisses.blogspot.com/2010/05/it-all-began-just-about-3-12-years-ago.html

[browngrl]

Denial is not just a river in Egypt. I think Kennedy wanted a pregnancy free period to focus on her fitness/do anything else not baby related. I don't think this is exclusive to or even more common in fundies - you'd be surprised and sad at some of the stories I hear.

Also: folic acid is an important vitamin for the prevention of neural tube defects. However the critical period for neural tube development is in very early pregnancy (around the 4 week mark) ie before many women even know they are pregnant. So if a woman wants to be pregnant or would continue an unplanned pregnancy - they really need to think about their nutrition ahead of time. Historical side note: back in the 80's there was a push  in Canada to include folic acid in common foods like bread but this was rejected at the time because it might mask an uncommon anemia in older men. I remember at the time thinking  "why are we not doing a prevention that could help many young women/children for the sake of a few old men whose issue could be sorted out by a doctor without much problem?" Yet another  example of bias in medicine. 

 

 

Edited May 21, 2021 by browngrl
added the word "tube" to neural tube

[Noquiver]

So she got pregnant almost exactly at the beginning of the year? Crazy. 
 

I’ve  been thinking about this a lot because I’d say it’s been since around December/January when she stopped posting about those workout plans (maybe later I don’t pay that close attention) and around that time she switch back to CrossFit. I was curious why after a good six months or more of being on those plans she was done, I thought maybe I’d missed a story or the money wasn’t that much (I assumed it was a MLM, apologies if it was not). And then I’d say 3 months ago she really fell off the Instagram story posting which was interesting. This does seem like even if you’re still menstruating monthly and don’t have morning sickness the physical changes would have started  soon then 2-3 weeks ago... no? And as mentioned it’s also changes she’s lived 3 times in the last 5 years. Maybe she is overwhelmed with the 3 she has and doesn’t want another one hence the denial? Or this is just next level bullshit. 

[Bluebirdbluebell]

The whole she didn't know she was pregnant thing is crazy.

Why would tumor be the first guess? If you think you have a tumor, you should definitely get that checked out  by a doctor to make sure it's benign and get it removed. Even if it's benign, a tumor that grows rapidly will still cause complications. 

Also I've known women with ovarian cysts and they didn't look like that.  The cysts weren't small cysts either, but large cysts that were so big, they had to remove the entire ovary. Ovarian cysts have to be removed in case they rupture.

It's not even that fast a turnaround. Kennedy had a baby in February and she's due a week after Chelsy who had the baby in June.

[JermajestyDuggar]

Her sister in law Martha has been dealing with secondary infertility for years. If I was in her shoes and saw that dumbass post, I would tempted to give her a piece of my mind. She may think her little story is cute or funny but really it just makes her look like an idiot. I can’t roll my eyes enough. 

[CaptainFunderpants]

9 hours ago, Noquiver said:

So she got pregnant almost exactly at the beginning of the year? Crazy. 
 

I’ve  been thinking about this a lot because I’d say it’s been since around December/January when she stopped posting about those workout plans. *snip* This does seem like even if you’re still menstruating monthly and don’t have morning sickness the physical changes would have started  soon then 2-3 weeks ago... no? And as mentioned it’s also changes she’s lived 3 times in the last 5 years. Maybe she is overwhelmed with the 3 she has and doesn’t want another one hence the denial? Or this is just next level bullshit. 

I would say just next level bullshit. To the point that I wouldn't be surprised if she'd been taking prenatal vitamins because seriously... All of those pics scream 'preggo.' You know her SILs were constantly talking to her about it. You know Campbell was probably talking to her a bunch.

If she is/was this heavily in denial... Yikes. This almost seems like it veers into the prenatal psychosis realm.

[FrumpyAtheist]

There are several fundy women I've always felt especially sad about because it's so obvious they were born into the wrong life. Alyssa Bates and Kennedy are two. It's such a shame that a woman who loves to be active and use her body to the fullest is stuck in a lifestyle of perma-pregnancy. Can't she see that women can be meant for more than motherhood? I found all her Instagram posts from last year about balancing fitness and fierceness with motherhood so forced and painful. She should be out rock climbing, running marathons, and scuba diving as a college athlete, not holed up in the countryside working on kid #4.

And I don't say this about all fundies because many women from all walks of life are happy being SAHMs or don't ever find a fulfilling intellectual career. I don't look down on the fundy lifestyle. But I massively look down on these people for making it the ONLY lifestyle when clearly it's very wrong for some women.

[SolomonFundy]

Sorry, this got long.

The most charitable thing that I can say about Kennedy's life choices is that she technically wasn't raised like this, and didn't experience 18 years of sister-mom bootcamp before her early marriage. Kennedy's parents started out pretty secular, fell into a conservative church, and gradually approached fundyism the same way they treat Iron Man events: like it was a competition they were being scored on. Kennedy and her brother were the only two kids for years, very close in age, and Kennedy was the younger of the two. She never experienced caring for multiple infant siblings simultaneously, or the kind of "grounding" that tends to occur with large families living on limited resources. Her parents were military for part of her life, and did ranch work for another long stretch. They got up and moved when they wanted/needed, and did lots of travel and recreational activity as a family and with other friends. When her parents decided to add to their family, they struggled. Adoption was their choice after years of trying to conceive again, and there was a lot of excitement and competition to care for the babies when they finally came. Nobody was exhausted from birthing and raising 10 other kids when Kennedy's little sister joined the family. They waited a few years before bringing her younger brother into the family, and then notably decided not to adopt again. Almost... as if they recognized that they were better able to give more time, resources, and attention to fewer children.

I think that on some level, Kennedy genuinely thought that she'd just have the same experience her parents did. She and Andrew would get their honeymoon books on "how to make a baby", read up, make a baby or two, and then if they really wanted more down the line, they'd just try to have another one. But instead, she's swimming in blonde toddlers on the Morton compound in a small home that was built for a family half the size of the one she'll have in a few months. She's healthy, fertile, young, and will have a baby every 16-18 months for the next 15 years, whether she wants to be a crossfit goddess or not. I think this pregnancy has made her feel stuck and limited in a way that she hasn't until now. 

She may or may not be in denial, but she's definitely coming across as reluctant to acknowledge that her body is going through all of this again. If she's 20 weeks, she should have found out the gender at the ultrasound this week, unless she preferred not to know. The fact that there's no blue hearts and confetti on the announcement makes me think that she already knows that it's a girl, and can't muster enthusiasm. She was so clearly jealous of Alyssa and Sam's boy last year.

For the baby's sake, I hope I'm wrong.

[fundiefan]

@SolomonFundy I do mostly agree with you. Kennedy grew up sort of straddling fundieism but not fully enmeshed. Now, she is living the Morton fundie life by marrying into it and that's that. No matter how much she outwardly focuses on working out and being "fit" - she is a fundie wife - and a Morton fundie wife at that. While it seems the younger group of Mortons didn't have the f*cked up courtsihp rituals as the older ones there are still enough glimpses of the insanely fundie way of life coming through for all of them - not the least of which is that the three younger boys to marry all married girls they literally grew up with. Martha & Adeline are the only Morton offspring to marry someone from outside the group they spend their formative years with. 

Not one woman in their sphere has advanced education or even a random job they love with friends outside the family circle. They all live on a freaking compound, together, with no one else in their "neighborhood". The job of a Morton female is to breed, period. 

And to a degree, I think Kennedy entertained the idea of "not me"; not gonna pop out a kid every year, not gonna be pregnant more often than not. She was gonna be a fitness guru and that's that. Completely, willingly, ignoring the fact that life she apparently chose as a teenager has her on a different path. You can work out all you want, but having sex without contraception will lead to pregnancy. It's the way we humans work. 

I still do not believe she didn't know she was pregnant or was in actual denial of that fact. I believe her public schtick about it is more indicative of her wanting to weave a narrative. A way for her to continue to believe she is straddling fundie wife-dom instead of in hook, line, sinker & uterus. 

[Noquiver]

8 hours ago, SolomonFundy said:

 

I think that on some level, Kennedy genuinely thought that she'd just have the same experience her parents did. She and Andrew would get their honeymoon books on "how to make a baby", read up, make a baby or two, and then if they really wanted more down the line, they'd just try to have another one. But instead, she's swimming in blonde toddlers on the Morton compound

@SolomonFundyThis seems correct to me. She does a lot with her parents still and her mom

especially. I wonder what her parents think of this. If anyone is sitting her down to talk about what she wants and then sitting her and Andrew down to discuss future options. Like does Kennedy understand her dad got a vasectomy? That’s like next level above birth control. 
Also swimming in blonde toddler ?. 
I find the divide between the older brothers and the lack of girl children and the younger brothers and the prevalence of girls is interesting. I know nothing about genetics but I wonder if this is common or not. 
@JermajestyDuggarI really wonder about the relationship between Martha and Kennedy. I could see a lot of resentment between the two because it does feel like both would be much happier with the others life. And it’s too bad that’s not how their God decided to make things. 

[Nothing if not critical]

41 minutes ago, Noquiver said:

I really wonder about the relationship between Martha and Kennedy

Martha left an „I love this!“ comment on Kennedy’s pregnancy announcement. If she resents her, she’s hiding it well.

[JMO]

29 minutes ago, Nothing if not critical said:

Martha left an „I love this!“ comment on Kennedy’s pregnancy announcement. If she resents her, she’s hiding it well.

Considering that they are encouraged to swallow their feelings and always be joyful, she doesn't really have another choice.  Not to mention, she grew up with Kennedy and probably considers her more sister than SIL.  She can happy for her and yet jealous and sad for herself at the same time. 

[Nothing if not critical]

6 minutes ago, JMO said:

Considering that they are encouraged to swallow their feelings and always be joyful, she doesn't really have another choice.  Not to mention, she grew up with Kennedy and probably considers her more sister than SIL.  She can happy for her and yet jealous and sad for herself at the same time. 

That's why I phrased my comment the way I did. Even if she's jealous, I doubt she's admitting it, even to herself. It would go too much against everything they're taught.

[Cults-r-us]

2 hours ago, Nothing if not critical said:

That's why I phrased my comment the way I did. Even if she's jealous, I doubt she's admitting it, even to herself. It would go too much against everything they're taught.

Kennedy could take a hint from any of their MAGA heroes: lie! Have Planned Parenthood place an IUD and if anybody was like, "Whar more baybeez?" They could demure God sadly closed her womb for a season (or 2). Or, she could tell her husband how she feels, and they could choose to plan future pregnancies. Radical notion, that.

[justmy2cents]

Funny enough I just ran into a neighbor who lives on the other side of our condo complex who’s about 8 mos pregnant and says she didn’t find out till she was 18 weeks along. She has 2 kids and had an IUD. She was nursing the younger one. Pregnancy never entered her head. She had several miscarriages before her first and a few before her 2nd. Normally she needs to be on blood thinners to maintain a pregnancy. She’s a very thin woman so you figure she would show sooner with her 3rd, but it didn’t occur to her because of her blood condition and having an IUD in. Go figure. Just as we were discussing this topic here. 

[NachosFlandersStyle]

Jeremiah Campana got married today, anyone seen pics? I'm guessing Alyssa will be somewhere in the lineup looking obviously pregnant 

[Cults-r-us]

18 minutes ago, justmy2cents said:

Funny enough I just ran into a neighbor who lives on the other side of our condo complex who’s about 8 mos pregnant and says she didn’t find out till she was 18 weeks along. She has 2 kids and had an IUD. She was nursing the younger one. Pregnancy never entered her head. She had several miscarriages before her first and a few before her 2nd. Normally she needs to be on blood thinners to maintain a pregnancy. She’s a very thin woman so you figure she would show sooner with her 3rd, but it didn’t occur to her because of her blood condition and having an IUD in. Go figure. Just as we were discussing this topic here. 

My friend didn't know until she was 8 mos along. In her defense, she didn't look any different, had no period in years and other child 16yo. She thought she had something dire, like cancer. My other friend said cancer is probably cheaper than another kid.

[Cults-r-us]

This is the thing: We all have our coming of age and adult experiences we evaluate against the framework of our childhood and what we were taught at home, school and church. This how we reconcile what we were taught with what we experience and decide what we believe and how we want to live, and why.

Somebody like Jill Duggar leaves and cleaves and has kids. She sees how she tries to care for them and make their childhood a positive and profitable experience. This contrast enlightens her as to the deprivation and neglect she, herself, experienced as a child, and maybe alters her interpretation of the roles her parents played and choices they made raising their family.

Well Kennedy is the opposite. She had the good childhood and it is maybe beginning to dawn on her that having a bunch of kids is not that great for her - or for them.

[Tangy Bee]

Wasn't it Kennedy that discovered FJ a few years ago? I can't remember, but I do recall her claiming she was happy with her life and couldn't understand why others were obsessed with how many babies are born in her family. Well...I admit to being obsessed because she married a pink dude from one of the weirdest, southern fundie families we talk about. She travels all over the world...and ends up with a Morton. 

[freethemall]

On 5/20/2021 at 9:09 PM, JermajestyDuggar said:

I don’t either. She didn’t mention anything about missed periods. I bet she was missing her periods on top of the belly weight gain. I think she knew it but was in denial and wanted to go about her regular Not pregnant life. 

If she was breastfeeding, she may have never gotten her period back since she conceived so quickly after. Mine took 9 months post-birth to come back.

[freethemall]

On 5/21/2021 at 12:52 PM, fundiefan said:

I just read Kennedy's description of the first adoption. 

How in the name of Lucifer did they 1) imagine that getting a baby within two months of deciding to adopt was even possible? and 2) WTF that it turned out to be 90 days later. 

What legitimate adoption happens that quickly? In a way that they get four "options" to choose from?

There was definitely some shady shit in that process. 

http://chocolatehugsandkisses.blogspot.com/2010/05/it-all-began-just-about-3-12-years-ago.html

This is my first time going through this blog and actually I havent even checked the Morton thread in a while and here Keni is knocked up again (shocker when you dont use birth control, right?).

Interesting the discussion that this isnt the life she wanted bc in the Dec. 11, 2012 birthday post for her, her mom writes this "fact":

"#16- Kennedy wants to be a sustainable, greenie lunatic farmer's wife and a mommy to many children."

So her dream came true.

Let's be clear here: Kennedy may have grown up in a smaller family who traveled the world, but they were 100% fundie. The Mortons may wear pants, but they are 100% fundie and I disagree with anyone who calls them fundie "lite", there is nothing lite here, it's all the same quiverfull goal of populating the world with as many evangelical Christians as possible and upholding systems of patriarchy and white supremacy.

[fundiefan]

1 hour ago, freethemall said:

This is my first time going through this blog and actually I havent even checked the Morton thread in a while and here Keni is knocked up again (shocker when you dont use birth control, right?).

Interesting the discussion that this isnt the life she wanted bc in the Dec. 11, 2012 birthday post for her, her mom writes this "fact":

"#16- Kennedy wants to be a sustainable, greenie lunatic farmer's wife and a mommy to many children."

So her dream came true.

Let's be clear here: Kennedy may have grown up in a smaller family who traveled the world, but they were 100% fundie. The Mortons may wear pants, but they are 100% fundie and I disagree with anyone who calls them fundie "lite", there is nothing lite here, it's all the same quiverfull goal of populating the world with as many evangelical Christians as possible and upholding systems of patriarchy and white supremacy.

I agree they are all 100% "in". But, we also know the Mortons are a very special brand of fundie crazy. They're just their own brand of crazy overall and use religion to justify it. Taht's what I meant. Kennedy grew up among the normal world, around the world. Then she married a South Georgian Morton boy and I don't think she fully knew what she was getting. 

Also, people can and do change in almost a decade. When I was 12 & 14, the things I wanted were not at all what I wanted when I was 18 or 20. That's part of growing up, living and learning. Sure, some people want exactly the same things all their lives, but not everyone and I'd bet not even most. 

[browngrl]

Some years ago I had a young medical student working with me. She told me she wanted specialize in neurosurgery BUT she also told me she wanted a "large"  (large for non fundie people ie something like 3 - 4 children) family. I told her to think very hard about her choice of speciality as this field is not so condusive to the amount of hands on family life she said wanted. She did not listen and when I ran into her a few years later she was exhausted and burnt out. I suggested she choose again and she did. Now she works a few ER shifts/month and spends the rest of her time with her family and this works much better for her.

I think Kennedy assumed that one life style would suit her but over the years has discovered that she really enjoys things other than child care eg fitness. The fundie world does not give her the option to choose again as did my former medical student . TBH I think this is one of the biggest drawbacks to the fundie life. Fundies give a woman one role and she has to stick to it regardless of how she changes. Fundie woman are only allowed a narrow leeway in their interpretation of their role. I think Kennedy's former choices are chafing and I'm doubtful she can even admit this to herself. All she can do is put off the reality of another pregnancy for a little while with denial. 

 

[VBOY9977]

3 hours ago, freethemall said:

If she was breastfeeding, she may have never gotten her period back since she conceived so quickly after. Mine took 9 months post-birth to come back.

I was just thinking about this. There are so many people that don’t realize you can conceive before getting your period back. I’ve watched a few episodes of “I didn’t know I was pregnant” and not getting their period back after pregnancy is a frequent reason why women don’t suspect they are pregnant again. 

Edited May 23, 2021 by VBOY9977

[fundiefan]

45 minutes ago, browngrl said:

Some years ago I had a young medical student working with me. She told me she wanted specialize in neurosurgery BUT she also told me she wanted a "large"  (large for non fundie people ie something like 3 - 4 children) family. I told her to think very hard about her choice of speciality as this field is not so condusive to the amount of hands on family life she said wanted. She did not listen and when I ran into her a few years later she was exhausted and burnt out. I suggested she choose again and she did. Now she works a few ER shifts/month and spends the rest of her time with her family and this works much better for her.

I think Kennedy assumed that one life style would suit her but over the years has discovered that she really enjoys things other than child care eg fitness. The fundie world does not give her the option to choose again as did my former medical student . TBH I think this is one of the biggest drawbacks to the fundie life. Fundies give a woman one role and she has to stick to it regardless of how she changes. Fundie woman are only allowed a narrow leeway in their interpretation of their role. I think Kennedy's former choices are chafing and I'm doubtful she can even admit this to herself. All she can do is put off the reality of another pregnancy for a little while with denial. 

 

Agree. I also think that her vision of being a wife & mother was not what she got. Sure, she's a wife and sure, she's a mother. 

But she had zero experience with the Morton breeding machine; she had her much smaller family, with 2 older kids & 2 younger kids-makes life much easier when you bring home new babies & the first two are already teenagers. Kennedy married a Morton & had 3 babies in rapid succession. In six year of marriage, she's on pregnancy #4. Even if she imagined it was what she wanted, reality is always different than what we imagine. she grew up on the outskirts of Morton-ville. 

She can't change her choice at all, she can't even imagine it's possible. She can't stop making babies and become a Cross Fit queen. She can't stop making babies and become a personal trainer. She can't stop making babies and become an educated nutritionist. She's stuck with online ventures, "counting macros", and working out when she can. And, apparently, she's stuck pretending she doesn't know sex without contraception will cause a "pooch" in a supremely fit work out momma. 

My youngest niece wanted to be a teacher since she was in middle school. It was her dream all the way through college and graduating with a teaching degree. Her first job was in an inner city charter school. It tossed her inside out & upside down. She went in with great hopes & dreams -- and expectations. She came out after two years beaten, battered & bruised (and not entirely metaphorically). She was spending every free moment on lesson plans, grades, parental communication and a shit ton of paperwork for the district. She had no life and was miserable. She went and got a customer service job. Walked away from teaching. And is happier than she's been in quite some time. 

She thinks maybe she'll go back to teaching when she has kids of her own and they are school aged, if she can get a job in a suburb rather than the city - which is apparently really freaking hard around here; who knew? She hasn't ruled anything out and is keeping her license current and all that. She took a few continuing education courses during lockdown last spring. 

Essentially, she has a shit ton of options; the dream she'd always had did not work out for her, so she made another dream and chose another path. Temporary or permanent yet to be determined. Also, she got married last fall & have chosen not to procreate yet. 

Having options in life is really freaking great.