'Shakeups, Steak, and Showtime' Recap

Bringing Up Bates "Shakeups, Steak, and Showtime!"

• Lawson is thrilled to receive a bunch of copies of his new CD. “When you finally get a mastered product on a disk, that’s something special, and being able to bring it in and show the family, it’s a really cool moment,” says the budding country musician. “When the boxes showed up at the door, I was just praising the Lord.”
• Lawson is preparing for a big charity concert in Knoxville benefiting the East Tennessee Children’s hospital.
• Zach and Whitney drop Bradley and Kaci off at the family’s house so they can go on a dinner date. It’s their first time eating at Ye Olde Steak House, the restaurant where Gil and Kelly used to order celebratory meals from when they had a baby.
• The “little” Bates couple will soon celebrate their three-year wedding anniversary. Zach has recently switched from night shifts to day shifts. Bradley always waits eagerly by the door for his dad to come home.
• “Do you remember though when we first got married and you asked me if you could be a cop?” Whitney asks Zach. “I was like, ‘No, you can’t be a cop; no way.’ Now I can’t imagine you doing anything different.”
• “I’m loving my job, but more than anything, I love having a family,” shares Zach.
• Emily Ann Roberts is unable to make it to the charity concert, so Lawson asks Carlin to sing Emily Ann's parts. Carlin says there is no way she can fill Emily Ann’s shoes, but Lawson believes in her.
• It’s the evening of the show, and the music is scheduled to start in 45 minutes. The computer system goes down, and the family members and friend who are helping are having difficulty scanning the tickets.
• “There was a little bit of confusion,” says Kelly. “A little bit of confusion?” responds Gil. “Maybe a lot of confusion,” corrects Kelly.
• The show finally starts, and the fans are hyped up. Lawson is disappointed when he forgets the words to one of his songs, but he quickly moves past it. “Mess-ups happen, but taking it light and watching people’s reactions, making sure they’re enjoying themselves, I think is a lot more important than perfection,” says Lawson.
• Lawson and Carlin’s “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus” duet ends up sounding great.
• At the end of the concert, Lawson brings AJ and two other kids from the children’s hospital up on stage to sing “Jesus Loves Me.”
• “Here are little kids that are very sick,” says proud father Gil. “They have been through some of the hardest times in life, and yet, they’re there to sing a song to encourage us. It was a moving moment.”
• “I can’t even begin to say how proud I was of Lawson,” says Zach. “The hardest person in the world to impress is your big brother, and Lawson has impressed me above and beyond.”

Recap: Sunshine State Bates

Bringing Up Bates "Sunshine State Bates"

• Kelly and Erin stop by Zach and Whitney’s house to see their latest renovations. Whitney explains that the next project is to turn the nursery into a bedroom that can accommodate both Bradley and Kaci. Kelly and Erin share their ideas.
• Down in Florida, Alyssa and John give viewers an update on their lives. They start by sharing that they are not pregnant. “Since Whitney announced that she was having Kaci, everybody has been asking me, ‘Are you pregnant yet? When are you going to be pregnant? When are you going to tell us?’” says Alyssa.
• The mom of one says she is content with where she is at now. “No rush, no rush, at all no rush,” she states, laughing.
• According to Alyssa, she and John are spoiled to have such an easy baby. Allie began sleeping through the night at one week old, and on the rare occasion that she wakes up, she always takes a bottle and goes right back to sleep. 
• How many kids do the Bates think John and Alyssa will have?
• Chad: 6-8
• Jackson: 2-4
• Callie: 3-4
• Isaiah and Addallee: 10
• Gil and Kelly: 8-11

• John works 8-5, Monday thru Friday, in his family’s heating and air conditioning company. To supplement their income, John and Alyssa have a cleaning business that the operate in the evenings. They currently clean an ice cream shop and a dance studio, while Allie watches from her playpen. Coming from a large family, Alyssa says she is used to spending a lot of time cleaning.
• Every week, John, Alyssa, and Allie spend an evening with John’s family. The men play softball or basketball in an organize league while the ladies chat and cheer them on. John’s siblings present at this week’s softball game are Jordan, Brent, David, and Tori. His parents, Congressman Daniel Webster and Sandy, also attend. Olivia is Jordan’s wife, and Regina is Brent’s wife.
• “Our family is always getting together around music or food mostly,” says Lawson. “And the Webster family, I think sports really brings them together.”
• The Bates also enjoy sports, but the kids say there is a big difference. “The Websters play organized sports,” states Zach. “In our family, we don’t do anything organized.” 
• “We play chaos sports,” adds Kelly. Gil shares an example: tackle basketball.
• Back in Tennessee, Lawson heads over to the children’s hospital to surprise his friend AJ at his end-of-treatment party. AJ is a young cancer patient who has been through 41 chemo treatments and is not yet in remission.
• Lawson brings his guitar and sings “Amazing Grace” with AJ, who is always thrilled to spend time with his buddy Lawson.
• Later, Gil and the boys finally finish the tree house fort. Gabe, a family-friend who builds buildings for a living, lends a hand. The girls put on old clothes and paint the metal roof pieces, while the guys give them a hard time for allowing the wind to blow leaves onto the paint. Carlin's response? "Well hello obvious!" The gals say they can see the leaves sticking to the paint but that they can't help it because they can't control the wind.
• Kelly jokes that the boys are so proud of their work that they might decide to move into the finished fort. “After seeing their room, we might let them,” says Gil, chuckling.

Recap: "Time to Reno-Bate"

Bringing Up Bates "Time to Reno-Bate!"

• Now that three of the ten Bates girls have left the nest, the remaining seven sisters decide to give their bedroom a makeover. The room had previously been decorated with all of Michael's pictures and love letters from Brandon. 
• "We are definitely going to make some rules about boyfriends being on the wall," says Josie. "My rule is that they can have one picture by their bed."
• "The problem with trying to come up with a plan or idea in our family is that there's so many opinions," says Tori, as she and her sister sit down with Kelly to make a plan.
• Josie chooses a dark gray shade for the walls and is able to convince a few of her sisters to support her. Tori and Kelly, on the other hand, are a little skeptical, even after the girls paint the room.
• Josie, the head interior designer, assures them that the curtains and decorations will tone it down. She's right! When the room is finished, everyone loves it. Kelly says the girls did a great job combining what she calls an "urban" wall color with rustic, colorful decorations.
• While the girls are in the middle of their redecorating project, Lawson and Nathan return home from a trip to New York to visit Nathan's friend Ashley, whom viewers met last year on "Blessings...And New Beginnings?" Ashely comes back with the boys to spend a week with the Bates. 
• Nathan and Ashley having been getting to know each other for the past several months. "Something's up, I think," says Trace.
• Meanwhile, Zach and Whitney work on a redecorating project of their own. They are at the tail end of modernizing their house, a process which has included knocking down walls, repainting, and installing trim. 
• Whitney has decided that their pure white couches no longer match with their white walls and black picture frames. She and Zach head to a furniture store to pick out a brand new black leather couch and love seat.
• When the couch and love seat are delivered, Zach and Whitney are both very pleased. "I love it," says Whitney. "It just makes the whole room feel like it's finished."
• Later, Tori, Carlin, and Kelly try out a new recipe, honey-mustard chicken. (Tori is currently on break from college, where she is pursuing an education major.) Now that Michael is gone, Tori and Carlin say they are spending more time cooking.

Recap: "The Purity Ring"

Tonight on Bringing Up Bates, "The Purity Ring"...

• Lawson Bates prepares to sing the National Anthem for 15,000 people at a University of Tennessee men's basketball game. When he first mentioned the idea to his parents, they thought it wouldn't be possible, but Lawson made it happen. "He doesn't give up," says Kelly. "He kept pursuing, and that's encouraging as a parent."
• The rest of the Bates clan attends the game to support Lawson. This is the first major sporting event they have attended as a family.
• Before the performance, Lawson admits he is extremely nervous, but he ends up doing very well. Lawson's parents and siblings are proud of his accomplishment. Gil tears up as he listens to his son sing.
• "It was absolutely awesome," says Carlin. "The crowd loved it," says Nathan.
• Later, Carlin is shocked when she receives a special delivery: a bouquet of flowers, a fancy dress, and an invite to a dinner date with Mom and Dad.
• Carlin is all smiles as she and her parents enjoy a meal at an expensive restaurant, just the three of them.
• Gil starts to cry as presents her with a purity ring. "This is a little gift that we got you," says the father of 19. "It's valuable, but what you are is way more valuable than any gift we could give you, and what God's given you is a wholesome, pure life. And I want you to keep it until the day that I hand you off to some fine young man that loves God, and then he will begin to take care of you."
• Kelly says that she expects Carlin to start forming friendships with guys and to enter into a courtship when she finds a guy she really likes.
• "For us, a purity ring is something we have given our girls, just as a symbol for them and a reminder for them to keep their heart pure and to put God first in their life and to save themselves for marriage," says the mom of 19.
• At Zach and Whitney's house, the couple shares how they are adjusting to life with a new baby. "Whitney is an amazing mom," says Zach. "I'm just blown away. The way her and Bradley bond, you'd think she'd had 20 or 30 kids of her own already." Whitney says her husband is an excellent father.
• The Bates brings a pile of frozen pizzas over to Zach and Whitney's for some family bonding time. Kelly comes up with the idea of getting together every other Friday night, and everyone agrees.

Recap: "Courtship & Marriage"

Tonight on Bringing Up Bates, "Courtship & Marriage"...

• Gil and Kelly Bates understand that as their kids grow older, they are going to cut their own trails.
• "I think all of our children are going to make choices that maybe we didn't make," says Kelly. "But I think the core values, in spite of the little differences, are the same."
• For example, Zach and Whitney say they plan to let Bradley watch Pooh Bear, even though Zach's parents hardly allow their kids to watch any TV.
• Erin, who lives only a few miles away from her family, has Callie, Ellie, and Warden over for a sleepover. "It gets lonely," admits Erin. "I'm not used to being by myself, and I really don't like it."
• Chad returns home from work, and he and Erin share a hug and a kiss. Chad joins Erin and the kids in the kitchen as they finish making dinner. As part of the meal, Erin serves steamed broccoli, but her siblings aren't thrilled about trying it.
• Now that she is married, Erin has adopted a healthier lifestyle. "I have to be honest," she says. "My family tries to eat healthy." But with 19 kids, it isn't easy, especially since Kelly grew up on TV dinners.
• In Florida, Alyssa and John also live a quiet life as newlyweds. Alyssa misses her family but is able to chat with them often.
• "It is terribly hard having Alyssa in Florida because I always want to go see her," says Gil.
• Back at the Bates house, Michaella packs for a trip to see her boyfriend, Brandon, who is away at Bible college in Texas. Gil prays with his daughter before taking her to the airport.
• Michaella is chaperoned by her friend, Amber. She and Brandon share a few heartfelt hugs when Michaella arrives. Brandon is thrilled to see his girlfriend. He had no idea she was coming to visit.
• Gil and Kelly discuss courtship standards. "We as parents set general parameters," says Kelly. They instruct their children to keep Christ at the center of their relationships and to remain pure. They would like each of their kids to save their first kiss for their wedding because they know that kissing in private can lead to other temptations.
• Gil and Kelly admit that they did not save their first kiss for their wedding. Zach and Whitney intended to but ended up kissing beforehand. They say their parents were very understanding when they admitted what they had done. Zach and Whitney encourage their siblings not to follow in their footsteps.
• Michaella and Brandon plan to save their first kiss for their wedding, but they exchange frontal hugs when they greet each other and say goodbye.
• Zach accompanies Whitney to her last doctor appointment before Bradley's birth. The couple is able to see a clear picture of Bradley's face on the ultrasound.
• Erin and Chad visit a doctor to attempt to find out why they have not been able to sustain a pregnancy. He runs tests and instructs Erin to take an aspirin each day, as well as extra folic acid. Erin and Chad are thrilled to have a remedy to try, and they both give the doctor a hug before leaving.
• "...We are very hopeful for the future," says Chad.