Thursday, October 10, 2019

'A Baby Grand Plan' Recap

Bringing Up Bates "A Baby Grand Plan"

  • Kelly, Carlin, Erin, Carson, and Everly go back to Castleton Farms, the wedding venue that Carlin has chosen. They bring Kim, the Bates’ trusty wedding coordinator. The venue owners were able to work out a price that the Bates can afford.
  • “My biggest question is always the one that Carlin doesn’t want me to ask,” says Kelly. “What about the rain? Is there a backup plan?” The woman giving the tour assures them that the venue has two indoor spaces.
  • “The thing that I’m most excited about…is seeing my little girl’s dreams come true,” Kelly says, tearing up.
  • Gil and Kelly arrive to help Tori and Bobby pack up their Nashville apartment. “I am super excited about moving back with the family and being around them,” says Tori. “I miss them, and a lot is going on right now, and I was missing out on all of it.”
  • “We have always dreamed that our children would live close to us, and we’re getting the news that three out of the four out-of-town couples may be coming home, and my heart is just full,” says Kelly. “I’m looking forward to some one-on-one granny time with Kade.”
  • “The year that God gave us in Nashville was absolutely incredible,” says Bobby. “My number one goal is to be just everything I can for my wife and my little boy and the family that God has given us.”
  • When Gil brings the 16-foot, do-it-yourself moving truck that the Smiths have reserved, some of the family members think it’s way too small, and others think there will be plenty of space. Gil, the master-packer who used to work at UPS, gets to work. “We have a secret weapon,” says Bobby, referring to Gil.
  • Gil starts to doubt himself, but he successfully fits everything in the truck…barely.
  • Later, Gil and some of the kids show off the new church building, which is almost ready for services. “Music has always played a huge part in my family, and for Dad’s church, the piano really is his number one instrument right now,” says Erin.
  • Everyone is thrilled when piano movers deliver the baby grand that Gil chose for the church. “It’s exactly the one we’ve been praying for for like six years,” he says. Gil tears up as Callie plays a beautiful song. He leads the kids in a prayer thanking God for the instrument and asking Him to use it for His glory.
  • Erin was previously the church pianist, but she now plays for another church. Carlin has filled the role, and Kelly hopes that she will pass the torch to Callie one day.
  • Carlin, along with some of the girls, go up to Kentucky to have Renee alter her wedding dress.
  • “You would think that when a girl finds her dream dress, that, hey it’s the dream dress, it’s perfect, but along with that comes alterations and fixing things and changing things” says Whitney. “If it doesn’t fit just right, it just doesn’t work, and guys don’t understand that.”
  • “Take that same statement and substitute dress for husband,” says Zach, chuckling. “Get ready, Evan!”

41 comments:

  1. Quick question- where is Brooklyn?

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  2. So strange how we never see Brooklyn with Erin. Carson and Everly always attends events with Erin but not Brooklyn.

    Before you send hate...take a second and think about it. All I am saying is that it would be nice to see the other daughter

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    1. Sadly I think that’s what happens when you have so many kids close together. The oldest will always get attention because he is the first to do everything, and the baby will also get a lot of attention, but not the middle children. I guarantee that Erin will stop taking Everly places once Holland is born.

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    2. I think maybe Brooklyn doesn't enjoy being on camera and chooses to avoid it by spending time with someone else.

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    3. Maybe she's a handful!

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    4. I noticed that too. I don’t see why Erin needs to be there with her kids. Too tiring for them & too much attention needed.

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    5. I believe they commented on this before. Brooklyn is more shy and Carson is more outgoing. She may just be more introverted. Everly is still pretty young and Carson is the oldest. So it’s understandable if they let her hang back because she doesn’t want to be too stimulated. Besides she has a billion cousins and family members to lay low with if she feels like relaxing rather than going everywhere.

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    6. Brooklyn loves her grandpa so I’m sure she wanted to stay with him. Everly was probably breastfeeding at that time and maybe Carson wanted to go!

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  3. What did Bobby mean when he said the most important thing was for him to be all he could be for his family? One year of ministry and then he's done? I know it's their personal business, but it still doesn't make sense.

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    1. MO- Agree. I'm really starting to wonder about everyone moving "home" with no regard to their job status. (Not home for Bobby, Evan, Brandon, or Chad) I know Bobby is working for Kelton but that job can't pay much until be becomes a certified plumber. Looks like Tori is pregnant again, just a guess. Of all the husbands, Zach and Kelton are the only ones I can think of with steady/trained jobs. :o)

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    2. I believe we just leave the details where they belong.... with the people whom they concern. What is important is that Bobby does what he feels is best for his family. What a wonderful husband and father he is to have that mindset. It will do him well in the years to come.

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    3. Unfortunately, a pastor doesn't make an adequate salary, especially for a growing family.
      Perhaps, one day, he can return to pastoring, even if it's only part time.

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    4. Anon 10:57am I thought the same thing!! Tori looked pregnant again and Bobby seemed to emphasize being there for his wife and Kade. I look for an announcement from Katie Bates soon.

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    5. Katie Bates? Her boyfriend is 18 and just starting his education. I anticipate it will be a long, long time--probably four years at least. Look how Michaela waited till Brandon was done.

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    6. While it is their business, they are on a show that details their lives. It would have been good to have some sort of explanation for the move. Offering an explanation (even a simple one) takes some of the pressure about rumors, etc. off the table.

      While I follow the family on social media and know that Michael is returning to TN to go to school, that was glossed over on the show too. It's not great editing by the UP team to assume everyone knows what is going on and why.

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  4. Callie played a beautiful song at the exact moment the cameras were on her, and she and Gil had a mic on? That was so staged.

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    1. Not necessarily. Gil was mic'ed because they were taping. And if it were my family, my son would be playing the piano, camera or no camera.

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    2. Yes, but would the camera have been on him at the EXACT MOMENT he started playing?

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    3. The camera crew is just following them around. They taped a lot of exact moments, but we don't see them all because they edit to make the show.

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    4. The producers get together with Gil and Kelly and decide on certain "scenes" that are acted out, rather roughly. There is plenty of impromptu comments ("Wow!" "That's great") but the scene is planned and staged and acted out. That's why the camera is always looking exactly at the action, and the sound and lighting are always perfect. If the camera was "just following them around" the result would look something like your home videos.

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    5. Cool, 4:15! How do you know that?

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  5. Did Carlin buy her wedding dress online? Why would she buy it from one shop and then take it to Renee to be altered? I guess Renee doesn't care because she gets publicity from it but wouldn't the original shop do altertions?

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    1. I would prefer to have someone I KNEW could do great alterations hem my wedding dress, then some random people.

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    2. Didn't they say on the show that it was bought online?

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    3. Some bridal shops do not do alterations. They'll sell you at $1,000 or $5,000 dress, but then you have to take it to somebody else.

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  6. Really! Isn't that a bit rude and unprofessional to take a dress bought somewhere else to Renee to fix it??

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    1. I think Renee probably doesn't mind the publicity. And unprofessional? Are they professional . . . brides?

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    2. Some shops don't offer alterations and others offer it as a package deal.

      I do question buying a dress that was that ill-fitting. It is not as though there aren't similar dresses out there.

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  7. Evidently it's Tori who complained a lot at missing everything going on at the Bates' home. Her husband didn't really look thrilled to move back there in the clip they aired. I don't think he's too happy with such a downer for a wife.
    When a bride purchases a wedding gown, isn't the gown ordered in her correct size and it's a sample she has tried on? Doesn't that wedding dress shop then alter it so it's a perfect fit? Don't understand what happened there to Carlin's gown being so large upon delivery? Why go to Miss Renee and not go to someone more local?

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    1. I think it shows the lack of maturity on Tori's part. She was all about the engagement and wedding but once the reality of married life set in and then she has a baby within a year of the wedding. She obviously needs a family support system in place. Bobby had left home to go away to college and then moved to be near Tori so he was not dependent on his parents for emotional support. Alyssa was just as young as Tori but she seemed much more ready to leave home, and Josie seems to be doing well also.

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    2. Why not go to Miss Renee when they knew she could alter it and not ruin the dress? They trusted her, because they have used her before. It is a scary thing to alter a wedding dress!

      Tori didn’t live very far away from her family. I am sure she missed them, but I doubt she insisted they move back near family. Ministry life is hard! The pay isn’t much and the expectations are endless. Some people get into it and realize they are expected to be on call 24 hours a day and up at the church all of the time, and it is just too much. Having a baby may have made them realize that they wanted to be close to family and not have long work hours.

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    3. MO- I agree with you about the Smiths. And it adds more drama when the wedding dress doesn't fit and it's good publicity for their friend Renee to alter the dress. I think they said that was the last dress available in the blush color. But I'm not sure about that- :o)

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    4. Kelli said that it was the most beautiful dress she had ever seen and the rest of the women were going nuts over it too. Are they forgetting that Miss Renee did not design or make the gown?? It was a rude remark since Renee is in the wedding dress business and they didn't go to her for a dress.

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    5. As a fellow effusive person, Renee probably understands Kelly's enthusiasm.

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  8. They must have money to burn if they travel to get a dress altered. Just use a local tailor!

    And Whitney seems to believe that a wedding dress is a magically important thing. Focus on the marriage! That's what's important. Not a garment you wear once for a few hours.

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  9. I felt that it was very hurtful when Kelli said that Carlin's wedding would be the most beautiful wedding that the Bates had ever had. She said it in front of several previous brides (and all the rest of them once the episode airs.) Really thoughtless.

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    1. Kelly Jo can be quite thoughtless with her comments. There are many times I have cringed at what she has said in front of Michael for example. The girls all seem to be very good natured about it, but she is risking hurting one of them with comments like that.

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  10. Can you post updated pictures of the church?

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  11. I’m confused about the comment that three of the four out of town couples are moving back. I know Tori and Michael are moving back. Alyssa lives in Florida. Who am I missing ?

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    1. I think it’s Carlin since at first she was moving to Nashville with Evan but then they decided to live near Carlin’s family instead. Carlin never actually lived in Nashville, though

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