Thursday, January 1, 2015

Recap: "Meet the Bates"

Tonight on Bringing Up Bates, "Meet the Bates"...

  • Gil and Kelly Bates, parents of 19 kids, got pregnant with Zach three months after their wedding. Like the Duggars, the couple has decided to leave the size of their family up to God.
  • Even though they have a large family, the Bates insist that each of their kids has a unique personality, and they can tell you what makes each of them unique.
  • Zach is the teacher/researcher. Michaella has a heart of gold. Erin is the organizer. Lawson is the family police officer. Nathan is everyone's best friend. Alyssa gets things done. Tori is a ball of energy and the family cook. Trace has a highly competitive nature.
  • Carlin is high-energy and very expressive. Josie is quiet (when you first meet her) and caring. Katie is spunky. Jackson is always growing and thinking. Warden is always moving. Isaiah has a tender heart. 
  • Addallee thinks of others before herself. Ellie is miss smiley. Callie thinks she is the boss of the family and is little miss sassy. Judson is a teddy bear and loves to cuddle. Jeb is full blast, 90 mph and can tackle his older brother Judson.
  • How does Gil afford 19 children? He owns a tree-trimming service, a dangerous but well-paying job. Gil says his daughters keep telling him to get a safer job. 
  • Gil’s older sons (Nathan, Lawson, and Trace) often help him with tree jobs.
  • The Bates are planning a big family supper. Tori, the family cook, shares her view on meal preparations: "Here’s what I say: If you want to complain about it, get in here and cook it yourself. Otherwise, you shut your mouth and sit down and eat it."  
  • Everyone but Alyssa Bates Webster and her husband, John, come over for the meal. Alyssa and John married in May and live in Florida. To make the distance easier, Kelly and the girls FaceTime with Alyssa frequently. Alyssa is the only one of the three married Bates children who lives far away.
  • Life with 19 kids can be crazy, but Kelly, who is often referred to as the "chaos manager," loves her life. "If we wanted a clean house and no work and no effort, then we would have no children, but we would miss out on all the fun," says the mom of 19.
  • Kelly sits down with Gil to discuss a budget for the baby shower they are throwing for Zach and Whitney and the baby boy they are expecting, whose name will be Bradley. The Bates' goal is to pull off a beautiful party while keeping the costs down.
  • Erin shares the heartbreak she has gone through with her miscarriage. She and Chad found out they were expecting three months after their wedding, and their due date was a week and a half before Zach and Whitney's. They were devastated to find out at the first ultrasound appointment that Erin had miscarried.
  • "The hardest thing was to see how much it hurt [Erin]," says Chad.
  • Although Erin often gets emotional when her family members talk about Zach and Whitney's baby, she has decided to be involved in all the preparations.
  • "It’s not about me," says Erin. "It’s really about friendship…making the other person feel special and important. And I want Whitney to feel special and important because I really am happy for her."
  • Kelly and the older girls get together to address envelopes for Zach and Whitney’s baby shower. Whitney, who comes over to the Bates house often to help out Kelly, joins her in-laws. Erin and Carlin head to the store to pick up supplies for the shower.
  • Zach and Whitney begin renovations on their baby’s room. Gil comes over to lend a hand. While they work, Gil shares parenting wisdom with his eldest son: "Bradley and Whitney are more important than anything else you are trying to do." 
  • One of Gil's favorite mantras is that "people are more important than projects."
  • While setting up for the baby shower, Kelly is informed via phone call that 17-year-old Trace has been in a car wreck. 
  • "I know that the family has a tendency to minimize things when they tell it to me because I panic," says Kelly. 
  • Trace is shaken up by the accident, but the rest of the family is thankful to find out that he has escaped uninjured. He had been driving too fast and had slid off the road.
  • Everyone heads to the baby shower. Alyssa and John come up from Florida for the first time since their wedding. 
  • The highlight of the shower is having all the married couples, each person with one hand tied behind his or her back, try to put a cloth diaper on a baby doll. Gil and Kelly are pros, but Zach and Whitney have a harder time figuring it out. 
  • After the shower, Alyssa and John go back to the house with the rest of the family to make a big announcement. Alyssa is wearing a shirt that says "bun in the oven." Everyone is thrilled to find out that there is another Bates grandchild on the way! Alyssa is due in April. 
  • "We’re the last of a dying breed…single guys," jokes Lawson, while sitting with Nathan and Trace.

44 comments:

  1. What a fun way to kick off the new show!!!
    Praying for good news for Erin and Chad as they try to become parents. Hopefully next week things will turn in their favor.

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  2. How fantastic! Thanks for the recap, it's somewhat of a "consolation" for those of us who can't watch it. (Or maybe it's teasing us, I'm not sure!) Thank you for your work!

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  3. I've been following both this website and the Duggar blog. Are the 'Bringing up Bates' episode going to be upload online for those who don't have UP network?

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  4. Loved the show!!!
    Love the family!

    Looking forward to the next episode.

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  5. Thanks so much for posting! Hopefully we can see the episode soon! Can you post it for us who do not get UP or out of the US?

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  6. Get this family on A&E or TLC and you will have a blockbuster just like Duck Dynasty.

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  7. i absolutely loved this show! (thank you uptv!) i've always thought the bates were 'real' and 'down to earth' and this show really emphasized that. my heart breaks for erin (and chad) and i admire how strong she has been. what a cool way for alyssa to announce her pregnancy to her family!
    lily & ellie, do you know if uptv will allow people to upload the links to the show (youtube, etc) to your blog?

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  8. Thanks for the recap, sounds like a great episode. I do not get this channel in my area. Will a video be posted on your website of each episode?

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  9. I wish I could have seen it, but can't see it in Ontario Canada. Will read your blog regularly. Thx for sharing

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  10. Cute initial episode, but nothing new. Erin and Chad need to stop retelling how they met - I can just about recite it word for word at this point. Let's see more of the kids interacting, and the family doing some daily things. My kids wandered out of the room within the first 15 minutes. Show the kids doing things, keeping their beliefs in the face of challenges, going to college, etc.

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  11. A baby shower doesn't have to include a meal - cakes and desserts and punch. Close friends would love to participate and provide a dessert. Where was Whitney's family?

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  12. I thought it was a very well done and enjoyable episode! Looking forward to more.

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  13. Will continue to support both families!

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  14. I'm trying to find a way to watch/buy these episodes but cant seem to find anywhere that is posting it. Have any ideas?

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  15. Is the show going to be posted on Youtube or any place else where I can watch it? We don't have tv and we really would like to see the show that aired yesterday. Hope you can help!!! Thank you so much!
    God bless.
    Ashley

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    Replies
    1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETS8GalLkns

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  16. Erin's support of her sister's pregnancy shows what a sweet Christian woman she is.

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  17. I wish I could get uptv just for this family alone. Thank you for such a great recap. I look forward to learning more about the Bates.

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  18. Hi Readers,

    We are still working with UP TV to try to find a way for viewers who cannot tune in live to watch the show. We will keep you posted. :)

    Lily and Ellie

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    Replies
    1. Thanks. Glad you're talking with UP since I don't have cable.

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    2. Yea! Thank you for all the work you do on the Duggar and Bates blogs. I can't watch either TLC or UP.

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    3. Thank you! I emailed them about the same thing :)

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    4. It's on youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETS8GalLkns

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    5. Yea!!!!! :D Hopefully there's a way!

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    6. Look on Youtube. It is there already.

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    7. I think the YouTube video is gone :( Anyone know who originally posted it to see if they can repost? I was right in the middle of the episode :/

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    8. Hi abrown925,

      You should be able to watch the episode here: http://www.batesfamilyblog.com/2015/01/watch-bringing-up-bates-online.html

      Blessings,
      Lily and Ellie

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  19. They are a lovely family but I am puzzled over the anxiety about Erin not becoming pregnant yet in light of God determining the size of their family. If there is that trust in His plan, why the anxiety such as seeing a dr about it?

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    1. From what I understand, Erin has become pregnant, but miscarried more than once. That, by itself, is a reason for anxiety and worry when you believe that life begins at conception. It stands to reason you would seek medical advice, try to discover why this is happening, and do what is necessary to prevent it from happening again.

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  20. Just watched the episode on YouTube! It was great!

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  21. Just wanted to tell y'all how HAPPY I was to see that uptv has created this show!!!
    I just happen to stumble upon it while scrolling through the tv guide, and now I've got it set to record.
    I loved the first episode, and I can't wait for more. This family is beautiful inside and out and I really appreciate them letting us inside their lives.
    Thank you, Bates Family and uptv!!!

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  22. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETS8GalLkns

    Just watched it on youtube :)

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  23. The first episode of bringing bates is posted on youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETS8GalLkns

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  24. Love, love love the show.. can not wait til next week. I do hope everything is okay with Erin and Chad and they can have a baby soon..

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    Replies
    1. MEEE TOOOO!!!!!!!

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    2. I hope this TV show sends the message to all couples that not all people are fertile as designed by God, and most certainly, not all of us are designed to have this many chldren. However, I think Erin and Chad's message can be to be to a beacon of light and example that there there are millions of children that need adoptive parents all over the world and that they make a pledge to adopt 20 in the name of Jesus and our Lord. First, start here in America..

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    3. This reply is directed at the Anonymous comment regarding adoption: As an adoptive parent myself, I question the assumption that it should be the responsibility of infertile couples to step up and adopt. I believe it should be something anyone should consider, regardless of the ability to procreate. Adoption can be a beautiful experience for all concerned, but the reality is the process can be daunting and cost-prohibitive for many people. I would give this advice to any couple facing infertility- Give yourselves permission and time to grieve. You are suffering significant loss, whether or not there were miscarriages involved. Before considering adoption, educate yourselves thoroughly on the process. Also, be prepared to receive family counseling before and after the adoption.

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  25. You can also watch the first episode on: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXBRRUHJoBU
    (I´ve found that the links mentioned above don´t work for me)

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  26. I would love to meet this family. They are Godly, caring, loving, etc. They are just such a breath of fresh air.

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  27. Love you all and love your respect for veach other and true love and support , commitment to make each other happy. Don't change keep up your true love for God and the meaning of helping others ♡♥♡ I look forward to seeing you every week I tape the show. God bless !

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  28. I think it is plain amazing that Gil and Kelly Jo were expecting three months after the wedding!!! I'm still trying to get over it:) And Erin and Chad, too! it is amazing!! A MIRACLE!!! God bless each and everyone of you!! have a great summer and end of spring!!!

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  29. Attractive section of content. I just stumbled upon your site and in accession capital to
    assert that I get in fact enjoyed account your weblog posts.
    Anyway I'll be subscribing for your feeds or even I success you get entry to constantly rapidly.

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