Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Big News From Josie and Kelton

Josie Bates and Kelton Balka are courting

Two Bates daughters are now one step away from planning their weddings. (Better grab the tissues, Gil!) Carlin Bates and Evan Stewart announced their courtship earlier this month, and now Josie Bates and Kelton Balka have their own exciting news to share...They're courting, too! Hear from the happy couple in the video below.

Josie turned 18 in August, which makes her the youngest Bates daughter to start an official relationship.


Photo/video courtesy of UP

56 comments:

  1. Josie, you are so sweet . You two are so incredibly cute together ! ❤️ The best of wishes for the couple 👫

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  2. Double wedding anyone?!

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    1. NO!! let each bride have her own special day. Carlin and Josie seem to have VERY different styles

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    2. 10:04 I agree that they should have separate weddings different altogether!

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    3. That would be really cool!!!
      But I would rather have a separate wedding

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    4. Why should a wedding be "the bride's day"?

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    5. 7:59 why shouldn't it be?

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    6. 3:31 Because it's both of the spouses' day!
      Saying it's the bride's day makes it sound like she is a spoiled child who just wants a pretty dress and stuff like that, while in fact it's the day in which both of them celebrate their union.

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    7. Actually, the whole it's the bride's day stems from faith. Originally believed that a women's goal was to marry and procreate, women were denied education and instead taught etiquette. In these classes, which lasted into the 70's, women were trained on how to be a good wife like staying thin, hosting his boss, talking in correct soft tones, dressing the proper way, etc. A wedding thus, was similar to be graduating from college.

      Also, marriages were usually arranged up till around 100 years ago and as the tradition was that the bride's family was paying for the wedding, it became about HER family. As women started to take on more personal and visible roles in society, the family began to make it more about her and less about showing off her family (unless your very wealthy or royalty).

      Then, women went into the workforce. But these traditions continued today in main part because the average person still thinks of women as unequal to men (whether personal belief or due to faith). Hence why people ALWAYS ask women who are pregnant if they are going to stay home or take a longer maternity leave yet we, as a society, rarely ask men these questions.

      I could go on with more detail, but that's a quick rundown.

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    8. Anonymous 9:55: I know, but that's why nowadays the expression "it's her day" shocks me so much.
      It's such an archaic vision of society and relationships!

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  3. Do you know if this will be aired this season on BUB? I remember reading that this season is a longer one than previous. Thank you, for sharing.

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  4. Replies
    1. She is old enough to have a boyfriend, she is turning 19 in August. I hope she just gets married when she is 20.

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    2. He wants to kiss his girl, that's the rush! Lol.

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    3. 12:35: I guess you're right!

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  5. Replies
    1. Turning 19 in August. She is a mature woman, she is studying cosmetology, im pretty sure she does not want to wait until she is 25 for her 1st kiss.

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    2. I was 17 when I got married and I'm still happily married 30 years later.

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    3. Most 18 year olds date. And personally I think there are many perks to getting married young. Josie seems to be more of a Jinger type to me, she and Kelton could get married young and hold off on having children for a year or two. Or start a family right away, it would be up to them.

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    4. I know that most 18 year olds date: that's the normal thing to do!

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    5. Josie is already finished with school and working on getting a job. She's a little more advanced than a typical 18 year old. Kelton graduated from college already and is working. I feel this relationship might move a bit faster than the others have.

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  6. Thank you for avoiding hateful comments. I love this family but unfortunately I don't have the up channel anymore. People that dislike their style of living should not be watching the show. I am from a family of 12 children and can relate to the closeness of the siblings.

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    Replies
    1. There is the UP Faith and Family streaming service

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    2. I don’t have the UP channel either, but I bought the season on Amazon video.

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  7. Exciting news for them, so happy for them also..... As well as Carlin and Evan, both couples are cute together... Wish them many years of happiness, can't wait for their weddings....

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  8. Congrats! No surprise here however. She seems to be a really mature young lady - maybe more than Carlin. Wonder if Carlin has any plans for higher education like her sister obtained? I may have missed that bit of info

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    Replies
    1. Carlin is in college right now.

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  9. Poor Gil lol! Congratulations to the happy couple!
    Géraldine

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  10. I'm very happy for them, but I have to admit, I do not understand the point of courtship. Josie and Kelton have been dating for a while. Why not just get engaged? The same for Carlin and Evan. They already know they want to get married. Why not skip the courtship?

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    1. Courtship is basically dating with the intent of marriage

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    2. They first showed interest when she was too young so Gil told them they could be friends and get to know each other but that she was too young to court (date). When she turned 18 they went to Mr. and Mrs. Bates and asked for permission. He did it infront of Josie though so not sure it he will make a special time to ask her if she wants to court. We all know she does. :)

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  11. Alyssa was the youngest bates daughter to court. John asked her a couple days after her 18th birthday.

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    1. Alyssa started courting John just before her 19th birthday. :)

      Lily and Ellie

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  12. Not surprising nor big news. Totally expected. But, I congratulate them as I understand in their culture it really is a green light for wedding plans.

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  13. I sincerely am trying to understand the purpose of courtship. Is it like what we once called going steady? If a couple "dated" for the same length of time but just didn't say they were courting, could they get engaged anyway? I know with the Duggars, they are finally allowed to actually touch, but the Bateses don't seem as rigid. I wonder if it is simply a different terminology for something that doesn't really change behavior wise. If it is as they say "dating with a purpose" can they date with a purpose without the term courtship being used?

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    1. Remember pre-engagement rings? I think courtship is a pre-engagement period. The couple has talked and dated to get to know each other so now they think they want to spend their lives together. During courtship, the conversations and prayers turn toward the future and marriage. I think this progression is what makes it so easy for the engagements to be so short.

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    2. The "what makes courtship different from dating" is actually a very big debate among Christians.
      I get the feeling the Bates' definition of courtship used to be more like the Duggar one of courtship as an alternative to dating, not an interval between dating and engagement. And AFAIK the Bates' still don't refer to the "boyfriend/girlfriend" period as "dating".

      However, Michael and Brandon went from "just friends" directly to courtship, so did John and Alyssa, and I think this was also the case for Chad and Erin, based on Chad's blog comments. Not sure about Whitney and Zach.

      Now, it's certainly far from uncommon for parents to ease up on the rules for the younger kids compared to the older ones, and courtship itself has fallen out of favor among conservative Christians a little, as the ideal of "you only have one romantic partner ever, and you court and marry that person without many baggage from past relationships" has proven to be, well, an ideal. Some have achieved it, like Michael and Brandon. And yet even they have suffered from their infertility struggles. "Court and you'll have a guaranteed perfect happy marriage" used to be the hope, but now it seems "courtship" has become more of a formality and a quasi-engagement than an alternative to dating. The actual engagement then becomes a short few months of weding prep, not a discernment period.

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    3. They dont hold hands until they are courting. If you watch the show when the three couples were out on a date, Josie and Kelton didnt hold hands or get as close as Tori and Bobby (who were engaged at the time) and Carlin and Evan (they were courting).

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  14. Wow, Josie is BEAUTIFUL. All those Bates kids are unnaturally gorgeous though lol

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  15. Cute, they are just cute together!

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  16. Congratulations on your courtship Josie and Kelton. May God continue to bless your relationship and this goes for all of the Bates.

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  17. not surprised at all! josie has always seem so mature for her age, and they make an adorable couple!

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  18. Josie reminds me a lot of Alyssa. She seems very mature. I think Josie will get married before Carlin.

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  19. Congratulations. They are such a cute couple

    i really was hoping the big news was baby news for Michaela

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  20. They are such a sweet and special couple. It wasn't over the top announcement or anything. Josie seems like a sweet genuine girl.

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  21. They are two absolutely gorgeous people.
    All the best to them in their future.
    Hopefully then wait awhile to get married. . .
    enjoy this time without being married or having
    babies. . . plenty of time for that.

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  22. Congratulations to you both

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  23. It must be so hard to NOT KISS someone when your looking at them like that. Such restraint. Way to go guys!! Stay pure. You will never regret it.

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    Replies
    1. What's wrong with a kiss?
      I mean, they clearly love each other...

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  24. I guess the Bates allow full hugs. The Duggars only allow side hugs at this stage.

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    1. The Bates also hold hands during courtship (as Josie and Kelton are obviously doing in the picture above.) I really do get a "pre-engagement" vibe from Bates' courtships. The Duggars see courtships more as a discernment period to see if they are a good match. But Bobby made the big step of moving to Tori's hometown before their actual engagement, it was obvious they'd already decided to marry. That might be why they find physical contact with full hugs and hand holding to be acceptable, when the Duggars don't.

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  25. Just turned 19 when we got married 50 years ago. Don't know what I would do without him. Definitely the love of my life.

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  26. Congratulations to you both. I live in England but I'm hoping to find someway to catch up to your show, because I haven't seen a channel that airs the show here. You're all inspiring so I would love to watch it

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    1. If you can go to UPTV.com they have full episodes that you can watch for free.

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  27. Congratulations Josie and Kelton.
    God Bless
    Marion,Joan and Marilyn

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  28. Congratulations! I’ll tell you one thing, the Bates girls have excellent taste! Not only are their guys handsome, but they are all talented and have a really good work ethic! I also love that the ladies have some sort of job as well! I also love the way Gil just gushes on about his daughters! This show is such an encouragement!

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