The Duggar Family

[maude~flanders]

Last night's episode specifically said (it was printed at the bottom of the screen while they cooked turkey bacon) that they don't eat pork as part of their religious beliefs. I had not heard of that before. I wonder if it is new. I agree about the hash brown casserole- we tried it once and it was too gross and unhealthy for us. But, I think they got that recipe from Weight Watchers, because it is a big WW thing from long ago and Michelle has been a member for a long time.

I also feel like I had seen the boys in shorts and them eating pork in the past. I wonder if they are actually getting stricter in their beliefs. They have really modernized the way they look and dress, but maybe they are adding more rules to other areas as they go on. JimBob said that they decided against wearing shorts after they read not to show their thighs in the Old Testament. Maybe they are picking up new rules as they read as a family and discuss it.

As for gardening, there was an episode where a church friend started a garden on their land and they shared the vegies. I don't know if that is still going on, but they don't seem to be into canning or anything like that. Considering how much they love pickles, they should give it a try. I tried to make pickles once, but I didn't like how they came out. A jar of Vlasic is cheap and less hassle, and tastes better than the ones I made. But, those Duggar girls can probably do a better job than I could and their family actually eat a LOT of pickles.

I agree that all of these things are not worrisome or as important as their seeming lack of education and their passing the kids off to the girls, but I just found it interesting.

Debb - crack me up on the church bulletin thing!

[Debb70]

Did anyone see the Duggar family on The Today Show this morning? Anna and Josh announced they are expecting again. I wish them all the best of course, but I felt a little sad for them. It's obvious they see nothing ahead in their life but having babies. They are following in the footsteps of JB and Michelle. They seem to have no dreams of their own. I guess all the recent talk by Anna about McKenzie needing all of her mom and dad's attention was just talk.

JB and Michelle said they were excited about expecting a new grandchild, but they really didn't seem to be. I think this is all that Michelle will need to inspire her to get pregnant again. When Anna got pregnant with McKenzie, Michelle couldn't wait to announce that SHE was pregnant too. I always wondered why she had to steal their thunder. I bet you anything she does it again. I think Michelle has this obsession with attention and that she will not be able to handle having Anna be pregnant and her not be pregnant. We should know something in a few months!

[JavaJo]

When I was a small child (from 4-7) I lived in a foster home. Very religious but I don't recall the exact branch. I wasn't permitted to wear pants, not even if they were pajama's and once I turned five, I had to give up the short sleeves and switch to long sleeves. We vacationed in Florida a couple of times and I remember all of us swimming in the ocean in dresses. All the women in the family had hair down to their bum but wore it up in a bun during the day. Church was Sunday morning, Sunday night and one evening during the week. I was so happy to go home when it finally happened. They were nice people and 30 years later, I still keep in touch with them, but I rarely visit because you aren't even permitted into their yard if you are wearing pants or shorts. If one of my foster sisters friends showed up to play in pants, the girls had to get them a skirt to put on over them.

I just can't fathom having this many kids. I have three and I find it to be a balancing act to give them each the attention they need. I manage, but between work, housework, extracurricular activities and life in general, it's tough. I'm also a believer that a child should be a child. That doesn't include raising your younger siblings. Helping out a little bit, sure. My 18 year old watches my 8 year old for an hour on the days I work (my schedule overlaps with my husbands) and occasionally if we want a date night, but he's not responsible for baths, meals, etc. That's MY job as the parent.

[tears.and.rain]

That's pretty common though, having an older child watch a younger child for a while. There are three kids in my family, and we've always helped out with watching my youngest brother sometimes or when I started driving, getting everyone where they needed to be if I could. It teaches responsibility, and it's honestly not that big of a hassle for the older kids.

The way the Duggars do it, though, turns the older ones into mini-parents, which I think is just horrible, whether they mind or not. It's JB and Michelle's job as parents to do what's best for them, regardless of how much they can take advantage.

Did anyone see the Duggar family on The Today Show this morning? Anna and Josh announced they are expecting again. I wish them all the best of course, but I felt a little sad for them. It's obvious they see nothing ahead in their life but having babies. They are following in the footsteps of JB and Michelle. They seem to have no dreams of their own. I guess all the recent talk by Anna about McKenzie needing all of her mom and dad's attention was just talk.

JB and Michelle said they were excited about expecting a new grandchild, but they really didn't seem to be. I think this is all that Michelle will need to inspire her to get pregnant again. When Anna got pregnant with McKenzie, Michelle couldn't wait to announce that SHE was pregnant too. I always wondered why she had to steal their thunder. I bet you anything she does it again. I think Michelle has this obsession with attention and that she will not be able to handle having Anna be pregnant and her not be pregnant. We should know something in a few months!

Well, honestly, two in a short period of time isn't that bad. It's if she continues to pop em out, one after the other. I wonder how much actual control she has over this situation, or is it that Josh wants another baby, and it's Anna's job to provide that?

[KatesMom]

It also appears, from the People article, that they suffered a miscarriage earlier this year (Josh and Anna, I mean).

[Jupiter]

As for gardening, there was an episode where a church friend started a garden on their land and they shared the vegies. I don't know if that is still going on, but they don't seem to be into canning or anything like that. Considering how much they love pickles, they should give it a try. I tried to make pickles once, but I didn't like how they came out. A jar of Vlasic is cheap and less hassle, and tastes better than the ones I made. But, those Duggar girls can probably do a better job than I could and their family actually eat a LOT of pickles.

Yeh..It seems I remember something about a friend doing the gardening..but don't recall the Duggars being involved except with the bounty of it. Still sort of perplexes me...but I guess to each his own. As for pickles...anyone (Duggars included) can Google "refrigerator pickles" and make an excellent patch of pickles of all sorts without using the canning process. Of course they don't last as long. I've made Bread N' Butter pickles to serve as a sort of salad/relish on my table and they're always a hit. But I doubt even The Duggars have enough land to grow that many cucumbers!!

[psycobabe007]

This really kinda irks me. They own all this land and have little to no pride in working any of the land they own. I am not saying they need to put giant fields of corn or orchards, but surely out of anybody they would see the overall cost savings for using some of that land for agricultural use, whether it benefits them or the community at large. With as many hands around the house as they have, a small to medium sized garden should not be that hard to maintain in the spring an summer months. There is more to life than Aldi and tatertot casserole .

I guess they will always be too busy makin' babies and preachin'.

[Debb70]

This really kinda irks me. They own all this land and have little to no pride in working any of the land they own. I am not saying they need to put giant fields of corn or orchards, but surely out of anybody they would see the overall cost savings for using some of that land for agricultural use, whether it benefits them or the community at large. With as many hands around the house as they have, a small to medium sized garden should not be that hard to maintain in the spring an summer months. There is more to life than Aldi and tatertot casserole .

I guess they will always be too busy makin' babies and preachin'.

LOL. They do seem to be busy with one thing or the other. I know they are busy doing things for the the tv show, however, I don't think they grew their own food before their show. Once they showed a man who volunteered to plant a few vegtables so they could water them and watch them grow. It was more a fun project than anything else. They showed the kids watering, but I don't think they took it too seriously. It seems like I remember they watered with a bucket and not even a hose.

My dad was raised on a farm (6 kids and a number of other hired field hands his dad hired) and their cash crop was tobacco, plus they grew everything they ate, except for sugar and salt. They raised their own pigs and chickens for food and eggs and milk. His mom churned butter from milk. He said the work was unreal. I can't even imagine.

We had a garden at my house when I was growing up; just loads of vegatables. Anyway, with the Duggar girls doing all the housework and tending to the children, that would leave the boys to tend the garden. I can't see that happening. I can't see JB getting out there and pulling weeds, watering and harvesting in the heat either. It's hard work. I remember disliking the bugs, heat and dirt when I was a teen.

[maude~flanders]

Well, honestly, two in a short period of time isn't that bad. It's if she continues to pop em out, one after the other. I wonder how much actual control she has over this situation, or is it that Josh wants another baby, and it's Anna's job to provide that?

When they showed Josh and Anna's wedding, they had a line put in their vows that they would leave their fertility in God's hands and have as many children as He blessed them with. They talked about that they specifically added that in. So, it looks like Anna knew what she was signing up for. They are going to follow in the Duggar senior's footsteps. I wonder if Anna realizes how hard it is going to be to have a baby every 18 months. She sees the Duggar family as a well-oiled machine, but that is only due to the fact that they have the older girls. With a bunch of preschoolers and babies in a few years, she is going to have a tough road ahead of her.
Also, Josh seems to be a bit eager to get them on the show (I'm sure they make money when they appear), so maybe he sees hope of their own show in the future? The only problem is that people will get tired of watching a bunch of families with multiple children soon enough and then he will be stuck figuring out a way to support a large family with a used car lot in Arkansas. I don't know....

[swissmiss150]

In the most recent episode, they stated they use TURKEY bacon.

I just had a pork chop for lunch - it was delicious.