'Due Dates and an Engagement Getaway' Recap

Bringing Up Bates "Due Dates and an Engagement Getaway"

• Kelly sneaks away to a coffee shop to call Travis and “Mama Clark” and discuss the proposal plans. Travis has to tell Katie that he broke his phone, so she won’t be suspicious when he turns it off. They follow each other’s locations constantly. “Technology has made life a lot more complicated and surprises a lot harder,” says Gil.
• Josie and Willow spend time at Whitney’s house, making decorations for their nursery walls. (Tori can’t make it at the last minute.) “I’m not the most crafty person, so simplicity is key,” says Josie.
• Zach arrives with a gift from the husbands, a box of chocolates and a promise for a nail day for the three pregnant ladies before the babies’ arrivals. “Our nails have to be done when we hold the baby for the first time,” says Whitney. “It was perfect.”
• Meanwhile, Nathan, a commercial flight instructor, helps Lawson earn his commercial pilot’s license. He pressures Lawson to complete the certification by the end of the year. 
• Nathan will soon propose to Esther and begin making plans for their wedding and life together. “Esther is an absolute queen,” he says. “I am so blessed to be able to just be with Esther. It was worth all the wait, and I would wait another 10 years if that’s what it took.” Lawson explains that he is in the process of saving up to buy a ring for Tiffany.
• Katie is all dressed up for the weekly Bates Sisters Boutique photo shoot. No one but Gil and Kelly know what is about to happen. Travis arrives and gets behind the camera while Katie is in the other room.
• The sisters are shocked and giddy. “Well as soon as Travis walked in, everybody knew that this was the engagement,” says Addee. Katie walks out and is completely floored to see her man. When Travis tells her that they will leave for Key West in three hours, she knows that the engagement will be happening soon.
• “Key West is sentimental to us because 28 years ago next month, we came here on our honeymoon,” says Travis’ mom, Carla Clark. “To be able to do it with Katie and Travis at this special time, we’re just thrilled about all of it.”
• “Any time my mom is on a trip, the most important thing to her is photos,” says Katie. She and Gil joke that the whole trip is going to consist of Kelly going “1,2,3.”
• The group of six (Katie, Travis, Gil, Kelly, Mike, and Carla) lands in Key West. They take a historic tour, followed by a trip to the butterfly conservatory and a sunset cruise. The next morning, it’s time for a lesson in sand sculpting. Katie and Travis win with their dolphin, while the parents make a turtle.
• That evening, Travis takes Katie to a big gazebo along the water, where he has arranged for a team to set up rose petals and other decorations. He plays a song that he wrote, and Katie cries. He gets down on one knee and says, “Katie Grace, will you marry me?” Katie responds with, “Yes, holy cow!”
• “…I am really excited for them,” says Gil. “I mean, this is one of the most special moments in their life. It’s an honor that they would even want us to get to be a part of it.”

2 Bates Babies in the NICU

Yesterday, we shared about the safe arrival of Hazel Balka. Unfortunately, she was admitted to the NICU for complications following her birth on Monday, but she is stable. Hazel's bilirubin levels are high due to a condition that caused her blood to fight against Josie's during the pregnancy,

Until today, cousin Jadon Bates was also in the NICU, but he was just released to go home! Pray that Hazel will be able to go home soon, as well.

 

'The Websters' New Home and Nathan's Next Move' Recap

Bringing Up Bates "The Websters' New Home and Nathan's Next Move"

• Tori, Bobby, Kade, and Kolter, who now live a few doors down, arrive at Zach and Whitney’s house for dinner. Bobby is hoping to learn a few culinary tips, so he helps Zach in the kitchen while the ladies exchange baby clothes. Parmesan garlic lemon chicken is on the menu.
• Everyone loves the chicken. “I’ll be honest, I love it when a plan comes together,” says Zach. “And I’m happy with my food, but I’m also feeling a little bit good, like I’m a good neighbor or something.”
• In Florida, Addallee and Ellie are helping the Websters move into their new house. “Addee and Ellie are seriously the best,” says Alyssa. “Addallee is so great with the girls, and Ellie is just a baby whisperer. I have a lot of clothes, and I have a lot of shoes, so it might take a while. I probably would have cried a lot if they weren’t in town.” Meanwhile, Trace, Warden, Jackson, and Isaiah help John lay flooring at the new house.
• In Knoxville, Kelton and Bobby show off the 3,500 square foot warehouse for their home service plumbing business. They also have 1,500 square feet of office space. “God has really blessed us at Tennessee Standard,” says Kelton.
• Tori and Josie are due with babies one week apart, so the guys decide to hire another office employee to help them out.
• Callie and Jeb visit the Paine farm. Erin and Chad have a kitten, two pigs, some piglets on the way, and a baby goat. “Before I got married, I really didn’t think I was going to have animals and…grow vegetables and stuff like that,” says Erin. “But since I married Chad, all my goals in life are now to be a farmer and grow our own vegetables and be homesteaders.”
• Later, Nathan and Lawson visit Markman’s to pick up the ring that Esther fell in love with. Nathan is officially ready to propose! He starts grilling Lawson about his plans with Tiffany, and Nathan jokes that he expects Lawson to be the jewelry store’s next customer.
• “Lawson and Tiffany say that they’re going to be taking their time and waiting a couple years to get engaged, but I have a feeling it’s not going to go that way,” says Josie. “I can just tell that it’s going to move quickly, and I am honestly really excited.”

'Two By Two, I Love You' Recap

Bringing Up Bates "Two By Two, I Love You"

• Tiffany comes as Lawson’s guest for Valentine’s Day. She and Lawson have been talking for five months. “We have a lot of the same life passions, and she has a lot of different things going on in her life,” says Lawson. “She’s finishing up her Master’s degree. We had first started talking over global missions work.”
• Esther comes as Nathan's guest. Both Esther and Tiffany join in on the first photo shoot at the new Bates Sisters Boutique location, and Nathan and Lawson come by to watch. “I am like pumped because there’s actually a solid chance of not just getting one sister-in-law, but two more sisters-in-law,” says Whitney, who is currently Gil and Kelly's only daughter-in-law.
  
• “I never thought that I’d see Lawson the way that he is with a girl,” says Carlin. “It’s like this whole new side of Lawson I didn’t know existed."
• Tiffany is very comfortable around the camera, but Esther is shyer and more reserved. Everyone agrees that both ladies do a wonderful job posing for photos. 
• Back at the Bates house, the Keilens decorate for the big weekend, which has a Noah’s Ark/animal theme. Some of the decorations are homemade by Brandon. Meanwhile, Nathan and Esther cook stuffed chicken with cream cheese and spinach for the couples’ dinner. Esther also comes from a big family and is used to cooking for large groups.
• When Nathan and Esther leave for the church, they give Katie and Travis the job of taking the chicken out of the oven. Katie is nervous, admitting that she doesn’t know how to cook. “Some of my sisters are really into cooking, and some of them aren’t,” says Nathan.
• The church is decorated beautifully for the couples’ dinner, thanks some attendees who volunteered to help the Bates. During dinner, Gil does a devotion about love and marriage.
• Later, Nathan and Esther go ring shopping, with Katie, Travis, Tiffany, and Lawson along for support. They don’t buy a ring, but Nathan now knows exactly what Esther likes. “If you propose with that one, there’s no way you’re getting a no,” says Esther.   
• Before the big party, Travis steps outside with Gil and asks for permission to propose to Katie. Travis promises to take care of her and be faithful to her. Gil gives his blessing, saying that he and Kelly have already discussed it. 
• The costume party begins! Zach and Whitney had planned to be a dinosaur family, but most of their costumes didn't arrive. Zach puts on a wig and calls himself a “party animal.” For the first time this year, they choose winners by having everyone cast a ballot.
• Bobby, Kelton, Evan, and Travis perform a song for their valentines. “Something about it, these guys that my sisters have picked, almost all of them sing,” says Nathan. “And they’re recruiting Travis, who may be the next brother-in-law, to get in their little boy band together.”
• This year, the Biggest Heart Award goes to Michael. “Michael drops everything to be at every person’s house,” says Kelly. “It doesn’t matter what they need.”
• Gil and Kelly announce the winners of the costume contest. In the grandkids category, the winner is Bradley the T-Rex. In the singles category, the winner is Ellie the cow. And in the couples category, the winners are Tiffany the bee and Lawson the bear.