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Thursday, January 26, 2017

'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."

17 comments:

  1. I am not trying to disrespect their religious beliefs, but if Michael and Brandon really want children, I do not see why they need to delay seeing a specialist. It's possible that they are seeking medical advice and just keeping it private, but in the episode they made it seem like something they were just considering instead of acting on. One could argue that God sends along people to help others, and specialists are there for this reason! If this is something they want, there is no reason not to go get advice, instead of waiting.

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    1. It can take the average healthy couple up to a year to get pregnant. Many reproductive specialists will not see a couple unless they have been trying on their own for one year with no luck. So that could be why they have waited until now to consider seeing a specialist.

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    2. It can take the average healthy couple up to a year to get pregnant. Many specialists will not see a couple unless they have been trying on their own for one year with no luck. So that may be why they haven't seen anybody yet.

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    3. I think they've been married for more than 17 months now, so, while there's no need to rush and have a baby, if they've been actively trying with no success all this time, seeing someone would be good.
      Not just to conceive, but also because if one of them has a problem it's always good to know about it, isn't it? It could have ripercussions in other areas of life.

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  2. You can "leave things in God's hands", but I think He expects us to be proactive in solving problems. (I really don't think he is purposely saying no to something like having a child. There are plenty of folks who have them and should not.) If you are having trouble conceiving and it's been over a year, seek help through a reproductive specialist. Problems can often be identified and corrected. Hopefully, the Keilens have already done this.

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    1. Excellent point! I think it also applies here: You can "leave things in God's hands", but I think He expects us to be proactive in solving problems. I really don't think he is purposely saying you must have a child if you are not ready or don't want to be a parent. If you are worried about conceiving and you'd prefer not to, seek help through a gynecologist and birth control. Problems can often be identified and corrected.

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    2. putting ones prayer,s into getting pregnant will not help if there is an real medical issue going on w/ 1 or both couples who are trying. this infertility is not always an womans problem it can be w/ an man problem too. due to any knowns causes (unknown damage due to any heavy high impack sports) very high fevers due to childhood sickness, some men can be born w/low or even zero sprem count. have a family member when he was adult at age 24 yrs of age had full blown chickenpox and this sickness destoryed his chances of ever having his own, no amount high tech med help can fix this issue. its a real fact some of these issues be identified maybe corrected if possible

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  3. I don't get to watch the show. What kind of business is Michaela starting? Thank you

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  4. I think it's great that Brandon treasures Michaela so much, but thinking that having babies or not is just a matter of whether "God wants it or not" is naif and silly. If they're really being trying there might be some health issue with either one of them, or both, that can be identified only by going to the doctors. If either one of them has a condition of some sort it's not just going to some day disappear just because "God wants it".
    So, while it's very sweet to hear him say "In Michael, I have just been given a treasure that I couldn’t have asked for", if they desire a family they should probably go see that specialist.

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  5. Doesn't sound like they've seen a specialist yet...I would have thought they would have especially with Erin's trouble. Hoping that they do go see a doctor soon.

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  6. Putting a situation in God's hands also involves Him guiding you to the Earthly medical help that will identify and/or resolve the matter. We don't live in a magical world. God says to do your work too to resolve. Get thee to the medical professionals...that includes having the husband tested first to rule him in or out.

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    1. Yeah, it really baffles me when people believe that prayer or faith work like magic. It's good to put yourself in God's hands and to trust him, but you have to actually DO something different, if you wish something in your life to be different. Things don't just happen because you prayed. Through prayer you can find what's the best way for you to do things, but it's not magic...

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  7. If this could be shared with Michaela and Brandon, I would like to tell them about
    NaProTECHNOLOGY (Natural Procreative Technology). I have seen many women who were suffering with infertility find success with NaPro. I think they may find this doctor helpful and respectful of there beliefs. http://www.downersgroveob.com/robert-lawler

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  8. If they are truly trusting God as to how many children they have, then also trust him on the timing. Don't the two go hand-in-hand?

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    1. I think that is what Brandon means when he says that God is just saying no for now. That kind of reasoning is not something with which I agree. I don't think He is orchestrating our lives, but rather has given us all free choice, while at the mercy of time and chance.
      There's no rhyme or reason for some folks, who are not fit to be parents, are quite fertile- yet others, who would be fantastic parents, are not. Why would a loving and logical Higher Power purposely have a hand in that?

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  9. My heart goes out to you both. My daughter has fought with the battle of infertility. I never realized how much it hurts to face this. My daughter use to pray when she was a child and ask God not to let the rapture come until she had a baby. It took 3 years for her to get pregnant after she went to a fertility specialist. Then she lost her first baby, which was a huge heart break, but she got pregnant again 8 months later and had a beautiful baby girl. She has battled it again but she is now pregnant with another baby girl due in November. My advise to you is there is help out there. It is not easy or cheap. A lot can be done to help couples with infertility. Please look for help. My daughter waited because her doctor told her to give it time not realizing with her problem time does not help. She was not diagnosed until she went to a fertility specialist.

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