"I 'Donut' Know What I'd Do Without You" Recap

Bringing Up Bates "I 'Donut' Know What I'd Do Without You"

• It's fall break 2016. Tori and Bobby met each other one year ago through a mutual friend, who happened to be Bobby’s roommate. “Their first meeting was at the beach,” says Kelly. “Daddy told Tori… ‘Whatever you do, Tori, don’t dive in too soon,’ and Tori said, ‘It’s too late.’” Courtship is new to Bobby, and when he talked about starting a courtship soon after meeting Tori, Gil advised him to get to know Tori better first.
• The Bates are spending fall break in Pensacola, Florida, with Bobby, and Tori is convinced that Bobby is going to ask her to start a courtship.
• Lawson, Nathan, Carlin, Josie, and Jackson arrive at the Pensacola condo 30 minutes before the rest of the family. Bobby recruits them to help decorate for Tori’s arrival. They put up signs, balloons, and beach-themed décor to remind Tori of the first week she met Bobby. One of the signs says: “Of all the fish in the sea, I’m so glad you chose me.” Another says: “In my ‘court’ room you have been found guilty because you have absolutely and completely stolen my heart.”
• The decorations give Tori a pretty good idea of what’s coming, but she doesn’t know when it will happen.
• Later that afternoon, the family goes mini-golfing at Fast Eddie’s Fun Center. While they golf, Tori and Bobby share a few hugs. Kelly says the courtship rules have gotten a bit more relaxed over the years.
• The next morning, the Bates meet up with Bobby’s family for a dolphin cruise.
• Bobby pulls his parents and Gil and Kelly aside to discuss plans for the sunset dinner that evening. 
• The next event is parasailing. Tori is scared at first, but she ends up enjoying it. “When we got up there, 600 feet away from everyone else, that was really nice,” she admits.
• That evening, the moms and one of Bobby’s sisters set up a table on the beach, while Gil and Bobby’s dad pick up food for two from Outback Steak House.
• When everyone leaves and Tori and Bobby arrive at the dinner spot, Bobby gives Tori a beautiful infinity bracelet. “I know this is one step along the way, but are you ready to go with me?” he asks Tori. She says yes! The parents come out to congratulate them, and then they leave so the couple can enjoy their dinner.
• “You pray when your children are born about who they’re going to marry and will God bring the right person along,” says Gil. “I think Bobby and Tori are definitely moving in the right direction.”
• “More than any of the other couples, I think when I’m looking at Tori and Bobby, I’m looking at a little Kelly Jo and Gil in a lot of ways,” Kelly adds. Gil jokes that they might just end up having 19 kids.

'Surprise! Kelly Jo's Big 5-0!' Recap

Bringing Up Bates "Surprise! Kelly Jo's Big 5-0!"

• When Kelly’s 50^th birthday rolls around, Gil tells her he is taking her on a romantic overnight. Little does she know that the kids are planning a big surprise.
• “Mom is turning 50,” says Lawson. “That just doesn’t seem right.”
• “Old changes every year,” states Jackson, wisely. “When you turn 20, 20’s not old anymore. Fifty is. When you turn 50, 50’s not old anymore. Eighty is. When you turn 80, you’re old.”
• When Mom and Dad finally pull out of the driveway, the kids kick it into high gear so they can get out of the house quickly. “Now honestly, I think the only key to being on time places is leave Mom and Dad behind,” says Tori.
• Erin, the head planner, thinks Kelly suspects something is up, but when she receives a phone call from her mom asking where she thinks Gil might be taking her, she realizes her mom is clueless.
• Erin and Chad, Zach and Whitney, and most of the siblings arrive at the cabin, located near Chattanooga. Erin assigns bedrooms and starts decorating, while Zach makes pasta for dinner.
• Gil sends a text to the kids saying he is five minutes away, but the kids tell him to stall. “There was a cemetery off to the left,” says Gil. “I said, ‘Hey, I bet there’s some Civil War people buried in there!’” That gives Erin enough time to assemble all the kids in the kitchen. The owner of the cabin greets Gil and Kelly at the door and pretends they have arrived at a bed and breakfast.
• When Kelly walks in and hears the kids shout “Surprise! Happy birthday!” she is completely shocked.
• The next morning, every wakes up early and heads to the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum to ride a train. Kelly says she has loved trains every since she was little. When her parents got divorced, her dad moved to Chattanooga and would take Kelly to the Chattanooga Choo Choo when she visited.
• The family meets up with the Keilens and enjoys a picnic at a local park.
• Later that evening, it’s time for presents. Kelly is blown away when she receives a new wedding ring from Gil. (She lost hers when she let Jeb play with it.) Then everyone shares praises and tears of joy. “It just got really emotional really fast,” says Nathan.
• To top it all off, the kids show Kelly a video featuring Brandon’s drawings and praises from the kids. 
• "It was special for us to see that we had been able to give back just a piece of what she's done for us over the years," says Michael.
• "It was definitely the biggest thing that's ever been done for me by anybody, and the fact that they all did it together..." says Kelly.

'Doggy Dilemmas' Recap

Bringing Up Bates "Doggy Dilemmas"

• Warden, Judson, and Jeb head over to the Paines’ house to help Erin and Chad train Max the puppy. Max is great at sitting on command, but he doesn’t quite understand fetching.
• Lawson visits the local children’s hospital with music friend Emily Ann Roberts to sing for patients.
• “Seeing situations where children are challenged to go on…it makes you realize, ‘I should be really grateful for all the things I get to experience in life,’” says Gil.
• “When we were done and we had met all the kids, I was already ready to plan the next time to go back,” says Emily Ann. “It’s amazing to meet all of them and just see how positive they are...”
• Kelly’s plan to tear down Gil’s shed and use the concrete slab for a basketball court was vetoed by Gil, but he and his sons work together to make a court in the side yard. Lawson comes outside just before the concrete truck is scheduled to arrive, but he is wearing nice clothes. “When I saw him come out there, I said ‘Nah, he didn’t come out here to pour concrete; he came out here to watch,’” says Nathan.
• “No, I came out there to pour concrete,” responds Lawson. “It’s like this, I figure if you do it right, you won’t get dirty.” His dad and brothers finally convince him to change. The concrete truck doesn’t show up, so Gil has to call another company and make an appointment for the next morning.
• The following day, everything is going great, until the Bates run out of concrete just before the end of the project. “Dad, being frugal as he is, got the bare minimum of concrete we needed,” says Jackson. 
• Thankfully, they are able to make it work, and the finished product looks great. The kids add their hand prints and names to the edges of the court. 
• Up in Chicago, Michaela and Brandon are loving married life. “Marriage has been the most incredible adventure,” says Michaela. 
• As a surprise for Kelly's 50th birthday, Brandon is working on a video that will feature his sketches and some poems. “In making a video, I don’t have a conventional process or setup,” he explains. “Basically, it’s whatever I can rig so that the camera is the right distance from the paper that it’s recording.”
• Michaela spends her days working as a nanny, sewing girls’ dresses for the business she is starting, and scrap-booking. “Everyone in the family has always predicted and said Michael is going to be the one that has a really, super large family," says Kelly. "She loves children. She rejoices when another person is pregnant as much as we do, but at the same time…there’s got to be that feeling of, ‘I wish I could be pregnant and join them.’”
• When Michaela and Brandon had been married about six months, they started realizing that most of their friends and siblings were expecting by that time. In this episode, they have just celebrated their one-year wedding anniversary and are considering visiting a specialist.
• “There’s definitely the excitement of wanting to start a family," shares Michaela. "It was always my dream as a little girl. It’s been amazing, just having each other, but then realizing at the same time, there’s just maybe some complications and some difficulties."
• Brandon shares some very wise words on the subject: “That area is an area we want the Lord to have control in, and for a lot of people, that means kids can come along just as soon as possible, but for us that hasn’t been the case. I still see that in the Lord’s hands. He’s just saying no for now. We hope it’s not no for always, but it’s no for now, and it hasn’t been wasted time. The most important thing in life is not all the things you can accumulate, but really see the value in what you have been given. In Michael, I have just been given a treasure that I couldn’t have asked for."

Recap: 'A Birthday and a Birdie'

Bringing Up Bates "A Birthday and a Birdie"

• Gil and Kelly have a tradition of giving a purity ring to each of their daughters on her 16^th birthday. It’s Katie’s turn, and her older sisters help her find an outfit to wear for her dinner date with Mom and Dad. Katie says she isn’t a dressy person, but they insist she wear something fancy.
• “Watching these young girls grow up to be young ladies is really hard for a dad,” says Gil.
• When the producer asks why the guys don’t get purity rings, Zach jokingly responds that “the guys in this family don’t get a lot of free things.”
• “Don’t worry about the ring,” says Lawson. “But if you want to get me a new saddle, maybe even a new pickup truck.” The younger boys say they would love a steak in place of a purity ring.
• At the restaurant, Gil and Kelly explain the significance of the ring. “This is valuable, but your purity and your life is way more valuable than any ring or trinket or anything in the whole world,” shares Gil. 
• Katie will wear the gold heart ring--a symbol of her commitment to stay pure, the talk she had with her parents, how much her mom and dad love her, and the goals she has set for herself to pursue godliness--on her right ring finger until her wedding day.
• “Going into this dinner, I was really nervous, not really knowing what to expect, but it was just great spending time with Mom and Dad, and they made me feel really special.”
• Later, Gil and Kelly, who have been looking for a permanent meeting place since they started their church plant more than three years ago, visit the building that they recently secured. It doesn’t have a steeple, so they are having one added.
• Papa Bill and Mama Jane (Gil’s parents) are visiting from South Carolina. Gil, Papa Bill, and Lawson go on a golfing outing. “He’s just been one of my best friends, and I look forward to any chance to be with him,” says Gil of his father, who is 78.
• “Lawson is a card,” says Papa Bill. “He is very funny. Lawson enjoys golf, but this game doesn’t quite go as well as he hoped it would.
• Gil asks his son if he needs to have a “large talk,” which is Bates code for, “Are you interested in any girls?” Lawson says no; he is married to music right now.
• Papa Bill offers up wise advice: “Just remember, whatever decision you make today will determine what decisions are available to you tomorrow.” 
• At dinner that night, Gil and Kelly single Katie out. “She was ready to hide,” laughs Kelly. “She does not like attention.” While they eat, the family shares birthday praises. Gil's words bring everyone to tears.
• Carlin: “Katie never ceases to make me laugh.
• Erin: “Katie is like one of my best friends. I would kind of like to adopt her if mom would let me.”
• Mama Jane: “Katie tries to make sure I don’t say anything that’s not acceptable. And that’s been a little problem with me through the years. Things I think just come out. But she corrects me.”
• Kelly: “You’re just so content and so grateful for anything.”
• Gil: “When I’m getting stressed out about stuff, you say, ‘Dad, it’s alright. It’s going to be okay.’ You help me get the right perspective on things.”

Win Lawson's New CD

Who doesn't like free stuff? We're giving you another chance to win Lawson Bates' new CD, What Country Means to Me! Follow the prompts on the Rafflecopter widget below to enter to win one of four copies.

Recap: 'Plans, Bands and Mashed Potatoes'

Bringing Up Bates "Plans, Bands and Mashed Potatoes"

• Erin gathers her siblings to discuss a surprise weekend getaway for Kelly's 50th birthday. "This is going to be a complete surprise, so the main thing is that nobody talks about it," Erin tells the little kids. Judson and Jeb claim they can keep a secret, but that remains to be seen.
• A few weeks ahead of Lawson's concert tour, he has the band over to rehearse. Some of the members don't know the songs, so the practice is a bit rough. "I'm sure that the pressure is setting in and that Lawson is starting to feel nervous," says Kelly.
• Later, Gil and the boys discuss building a "basketball goal" in the yard. They have been playing on gravel for more than 10 years and have been saving money to pour a slab of concrete. 
• "When you learn how to play basketball on gravel, you have home court advantage over anyone that comes to your house because most people don't have that talent," says Nathan.
• Everyone has their own idea about where the court should go. "Lawson always has the perfect plan, no matter what anyone else says," says Erin. They decide to shoot for it. Whoever makes a basket makes the final call.
• "I know one thing for sure," says Kelly. "You boys definitely need a court. You need some practice. How about y'all take up a different sport."
• Kelly suggests the guys tear down the junk shed and use that concrete slab for their court. Gil says that will cost too much money. "That doesn't cost a dime, darlin,'" says Kelly. "One match."
• So Kelly decides to shoot a basket. "I've never even seen my mom throw a basketball, in her life," says Zach. And she makes it! 
• "When I saw my wife make that shot...I'm kind of shaking in my boots," says Gil. It still might be a while before the actual project goes down though. The Bates do operate on Bates time, after all.
• Warden heads over to Erin's house, which is about 30 minutes away, for a cooking lesson. He makes chicken, mashed potatoes, rolls, salad, and cookies.
• "In a lot of households, the guys kind of do these things and the girls do these things, but in our house, it's not really that way," says Lawson. "It's all hands on deck." Zach jokes that he is the best at everything because he is the oldest.

Season 5 Premiere Recap

Bringing Up Bates "Summer Lovin', Guitar Strummin and a Surprise a Comin'"...

• The Bates head to The Wilds overnight camp in North Carolina to pick up Jackson, Warden, and Isaiah. This is the first time any Bates kids have gone to sleepaway camp without the rest of the clan. Bobby Smith, Tori's boyfriend, is a counselor at the camp.
• Tori gives an update on her relationship with Bobby: "We've been together for about a year now, like officially, unofficially, like technically but not technically. We're together but we're not together. It's confusing. We're gonna get married."
• "Bobby was interested in a courtship," shares Gil. "I said, 'Well you need to get to know each other a little more before we really move into something more official.' So it looks like they're moving in that direction, and we'll see what happens." 
• Bobby lives in Tampa, Florida, and also goes to school in Florida, while Tori lives and attends school near Knoxville, Tennessee.  
• "I think every parent wants to see their children happy," says Kelly. "And of course if Bobby's anywhere nearby...Tori is bubbling over, so as a parent, I'll be anxious to see where her future is leading over the next few months.
• Bobby gives the Bates a tour of the camp. The first stop is the giant swing. "I saw the cables, I saw the spring, I saw that thing, and I knew, this is something my wife would never do," states Gil. The kids know their mom will never agree to ride if she knows how it works, so they don't tell her. She goes into it thinking it's a calm, romantic ride.
• When Kelly realizes what's happening, it's too late. "What are y'all doing to me?" she shouts. "This is not a ride, this is a torture contraption!" The Bates mom screams the entire time. 
• Next stop is the lake, which features jumping platforms, a giant blob, and ziplines. 
• Back in Tennessee, Lawson is preparing for a short concert tour to showcase his new CD. He heads to the studio to record vocals, accompanied by Kelly and Josie. "My mom is my number one supporter, and I appreciate all of her encouragement," says Lawson. The first song is a duet with Emily Ann Roberts. 
• "When you see your child strive for something, you can't help but be proud as a mom," says Kelly, beaming.
• Later, Gil, Lawson, Nathan, and Carlin help Trace practice for his Dixie Stampede audition. In addition to trick riding, Trace is going to have to learn showmanship and dancing. 
• Dancing is something the Bates have never done. Kelly says her son might have to take some lessons. "Dancing is not in my comfort zone," admits Trace. 
• "I don't think I ever dreamed I would see the day when my mom would be encouraging anyone in my family to take dance lessons," says Zach, smiling. "We're all starting to realize that there are extremes with everything, but what's your heart? Are you wanting to do this in a good, uplifting, and appropriate way, or is this more in a negative connotation?"
• "We never really danced as a family, probably because a lot of the teenage dancing gets a little bit too close for comfort for Gil...," says Kelly. The Bates parents admit they are having to reevaluate now that the kids are growing up.
• "[Trace] kind of was the shy one, but he's coming out of this box, and he's finding out who he is on his own without following in his brothers' shadows," says Kelly.
• At Zach and Whitney's house, the family of four enjoys time together on one of Zach's days off. He is in law enforcement and works 12-hour shifts, which is difficult for his wife and kids. They head over to Gil and Kelly's house for a family day with the whole clan.

Winners of Lawson's New CD

Our giveaway is over, and we have chosen the winners! These five readers will receive a copy of Lawson Bates' newest CD, "What Country Means to Me.'

Sara L.
Blessing Counter
Britt B.
Tiffany H.
Beth L.

Thanks to everyone who entered the raffle. If you didn't win, we encourage you to pick up a copy of the CD. (It would also make a wonderful Christmas gift.) Visit Lawson's website to order a physical copy for $15, or visit iTunes to order the digital version for $9.99.

Giveaway: Lawson Bates' New CD

With less than one week until the release of Lawson Bates' new album, "What Country Means to Me," we have a giveaway for y'all! Lawson dropped by our house last week to give us a handful of CDs to raffle off to our readers.

(Check out our October 27th post to find out how to buy "I'll Love Again," Lawson's single featuring Emily Ann Roberts from The Voice.)

Follow the directions on the widget below to enter to win this giveaway.

Recap: "And Baby Makes Five?"

Bringing Up Bates "And Baby Makes Five?"

• With Brooklyn’s due date just one month away, Erin is struggling with fear. “All that she went through with her pregnancy with Carson and then even with the miscarriages before Carson, she was nervous,” says Kelly. “And it got to the point that she was not eating good or sleeping good. She was very restless.”
• Erin’s labor with Carson was extremely painful, due to her blood clotting condition, so wants an epidural this time around. “If she doesn’t get an epidural with Brookie, I don’t think she’s ever going to have kids again,” jokes Tori. 
• Erin, Chad, and Carson have their weekly Skype chat with Nana and the rest of the Paine family. Then they head to Beech Creek Studios near Nashville, Tennessee, to finish recording Erin’s lullaby CD.
• According to Kelly, Erin's cooking skills used to be nonexistent, but since marrying Chad, she has become a wonderful chef. “She went from not knowing how to do anything to being really good at it now,” says Kelly.
• Erin and Chad have been considering buying a dog for Carson. One afternoon, Erin sits down with Kelly to look at photos of puppies for sale. “After I started looking at pictures of puppies and started thinking about it, I just couldn’t help myself,” says Erin. “So I finally decided, let’s just do this, and I’ll surprise Chad.”
• Erin finds one that she likes, so she and Kelly drive an hour away to see it. She ends up buying it, and Chad is definitely surprised. “Oh honey, we needed a dog, but I think we’re still kind of nuts though,” says Chad. The puppy is covered in fleas, but he's very cute.
• Later, Kelly and the girls deliver a gift basket to Erin. “I told the girls...don’t think about money,” Kelly announces to Gil. “You actually told them that?” laughs Gil, his eyes wide. But he admits he is glad they did that for Erin.
• When Erin’s due date is less than two weeks away, she and Kelly take some of the kids on a zoo outing. Erin especially enjoys seeing the pregnant gorilla. It's hot and humid, so Kelly treats everyone to slushies. 
• “You know when Mom is running the trip or Dad is running the trip,” says Lawson. “Mom goes, and slushies all around, on the house,” adds Zach. “Dad goes, and we bring a jug of water from the house that he filled up in the sink.”
• The night before her delivery, Erin starts having intense contractions, so she and Chad head to the hospital. In addition to Chad and the medical staff, Kelly, Chad’s mom, Katie, and Tori join Erin for the birth. (Katie holds the camera, as the film crew is not allowed in the hospital room.)
• Erin is able to have an epidural, so this birth goes much smoother. Brooklyn’s arrival is a very emotional moment for everyone. Later, 15-month-old Carson is thrilled to finally meet his little sister.