'Loads of Laundry and Lots of Lessons' Recap

Bringing Up Bates "Loads of Laundry and Lots of Lessons"

• The Bates are staying at a local hotel while their house is aired out. They have two, two-bedroom suites. “I think the initial thought of staying at a hotel was, ‘This is going to be fun,’” says Gil. “But about 48 hours into it, this is not the vacation we were thinking about.”
• Managing laundry and meals while living in a hotel proves to be a difficult task for the super-sized Bates family, but they are grateful that the damage to their house was minor and that no lives were lost.
• “In the long run, life could have been a whole lot harder,” says Gil. “You know, like the fires in Gatlinburg. Our little problems were really nothing compared to what other people were facing.”
• As they continue to teach Judson and Jeb about the dangers of fire, Gil and Kelly, along with Lawson, take the boys up to Gatlinburg to see the shell of a home that was destroyed in the Gatlinburg forest fire, which happened at the same time as the Bates’ house fire. “I want that to be a picture that you guys remember every time you’re tempted to disobey,” Kelly tells her two youngest sons as they stand there looking at the house.
• The Gatlinburg fire, believed to be started by two juveniles, killed 14 people, injured approximately 150 individuals, and destroyed more than 1,700 structures.
• Gil, Kelly, Lawson, Judson, and Jeb bring gifts to a family that lost everything in the Gatlinburg fire. “We went there to teach our children a lesson, thinking we’re going to be a blessing," shares Gil. “...I wasn’t just Jud and Jeb that learned a lesson. I think more than them, me and Kelly learned a lesson. And that family was a great testimony of going through difficult times, staying close as a family, and having the right perspective.”
• Later, Gil and the boys head over to the newly purchased church building to make plans for construction. “It’s really little, and it needs a lot of work,” says Trace, “But it’s just so awesome, now we’ve actually got our own church building.”
• Back at their house, the Bates accept a delivery of their emergency clothes that had been professionally cleaned. They walk through the second floor, sniffing everything, to make sure the smoke odor has left. The plan is to redo the sheetrock, floor, and paint in the laundry room.
• To get their mind off the fire, Gil and Kelly take the family to the ARK Encounter in Kentucky. For those who haven’t heard about the ARK Encounter, it’s a full-size replica of Noah’s Ark that opened in 2016. Inside the structure is a museum.
• With a bunch of little kids in tow, Gil doesn’t have time to read all the displays, so he takes pictures of just about every single one of them so he can look back at them later.
• Between the fire, the new church building, and the tree service, the Bates have a lot on their plate. “I don’t know how [my parents] do it,” says Lawson. “They’re like super people.”