Welcome to the Bates family blog! Gil and Kelly have been married since 1987 and have nineteen children. Twelve of their children have been married. They have thirty-two grandchildren. They have four children and eight grandchildren in heaven.
This month the Bates family celebrated Carlin, Allie, Chad and Ellie's birthdays. The family also celebrated Easter.
Bringing Up Bates returned on April 8th with brand new episodes. You can check out our recaps by clicking here.
Gil and Kelly announce the engagement of their daughter, Katie and Travis.
Katie spends some time with Ellie, Callie and Addallee and show them how to curl their hair. Addee reveals that it's going to be sad when Katie leaves. She is going to be crying for the whole week after.
Zach arrives to the big house to help the boys hang Christmas Lights. Nathan arrives with Esther to introduce her to the family. Zach reveals that Esther seems like a very sweet girl and she loves Nathan a lot. He also reveals that it seems like Nathan loves her alot too so he was super excited to watch them roll in. Esther is also from a big family so she feels right at home with the Bates family right now.
The couples gather for a bonfire. John and Alyssa are in town so everyone is together. Nathan and Esther share how they met. Nathan reveals that Esther has the bluest eyes that he has ever seen. The couple started texting and calling about a week later, Nathan said that he wanted to be more than friends. Nathan reveals that it was a year ago so going public with his family is like going public with the world.
Over at Zach and Whitney's house, the kids help decorate gingerbread men or rather genderbread men. Josie, Kelton, and Willow have a photoshoot to reveal the gender of their second baby.
The family gathers for their Christmas celebration expect for Bobby and Tori's family. Bobby and Tori are not able to attend the family's celebration. Taryn Yager takes outdoor family photos. After the group photo, the reveals start. Kelton and Josie hand over an ornament to Kelton's father that reveals "baby Girl: Hazel Sloane Balka.
Zach and Whitney hand his and Whitney's parents a box of gingerbread men with no icing. Kelly ask where the color is and Zach apologizes and brings out the blue gingerbread men.
Erin makes a big announcement on Bobby and Tori's behalf. She gives her parents a placard that says "making room for a new little one: Charlotte Raine.
Tori reveals that Bobby will be a good girl dad but she can't say that she will be a good girl mom but she will try her hardest.
Nathan reveals that Christmas is a magical time of year. He also adds that he can't wait for every Christmas to come since he is confident that they are going to be with Esther.
Tonight on Bringing Up Bates, Nathan brings Esther to meet his parents and his siblings.
Nathan is head over heels for his girlfriend and invites her to Tennessee for the holidays; meanwhile, Katie bonds with her younger sisters by teaching them some hairstyling tips and dishing about her future plans with Travis.
Just prior to Kelly's surgery, the family gathers to surprise Kelly with a birthday celebration. Michaella reveals that family time is really a special gift and she thinks that her mom will enjoy the special time before her surgery. Instead of doing the birthday praises that is a family tradition, they decide to share childhood memories. Zach remembers the time that the little kids were napping that his mother would teach him how to read. Erin remembers her mother listening to her practice music when she was not really good at. Callie recounts how her mother makes her feel special and encourages her to try new things. Kelly is so thankful to all of her children.
Gil leads the family in prayer for Kelly's surgrey. John and Alyssa are able to facetime for the birthday party which means a lot to Kelly.
It's been two days since Kelly's surgery, Michaella comes by to check on her mother who is in pain and will have a month recovery with only liquids and purees. She is looking forward to having a better quality of life.
Lawson has adopted a dog name Duke and has a K9 trainer come by to the house. Lawson hopes to train the dog as a law enforcement dog but Zach is not sure. Zach is worried that with everyone running around the house. He knows that the dog is going to be spoiled with attention and should be an police emotional support dog.
Bobby and Tori had orginally planned to do a big birthday bash for Kade's second birthday however some of the family were exposed to COVID so they had to change their plans to just celebrate his birthday with Bobby's parents. They decorate cupcakes but Kade is not into it as much as Kolter. Alyssa gives her birthday buddy a golf set which makes him more into the party mood.
Nathan reveals to his parents about his relationship with Esther. Esther lives in Pennsylvania. They are officially boyfriend and girlfriend. Nathan would like to have Esther come to the early Christmas celebration because he will be on the east coast for Christmas. Nathan asks for advice and the parents give him advice to take it slow. Nathan reveals that it means so much to have his parents excited about being involved in their lives. Nathan reveals that his parents share their past experiences and they are always honest which helps their children.
On the eve of Kelly Jo getting surgery, the Bates kids throw her a surprise birthday party; Lawson works with a K9 trainer to see if his new puppy has what it takes to become a search and rescue dog; Bobby and Tori celebrate Kade's 2nd birthday.
We are so excited to share that the 8th Bates Wedding will soon be here. It's crazy to think Katie and Travis will be married very soon.
We do no know the wedding date but be sure to check out their engagement announcement by clicking here.
Fresh off the news of Katie and Travis's engagement announcement, we thought that it would be wonderful to recap the Bates engagement announcements.
Erin was the first one to get engaged to Chad Paine on August 5, 2013. We shared the special news on October 7, 2013 on this post.
Zach and Whitney would later get engaged on September 12, 2013. We also share the special news on October 7, 2013
Brandon and Michaella were the fourth ones to get engaged on April 15, 2015.
Carlin and Evan got engaged in September 2018 just three months after her sister Josie got engaged
Travis and Katie are the newest ones to get engaged and it will be intersenting to see who gets engaged next. Will it be Lawson or Nathan?
Travis comes to Tennessee for Katie's birthday. Travis rveals that Katie loves to remind him that she is older than him by five months. He adds that she loves to say that I love older women. When he arrives to the house, he surprises her with a new dress and plans for a dinner date. When it comes to having chaperones, Katie and Travis choses Addallee and Ellie since they have a limited section.
Whitney and Carlin head to pick up their key for their storefront in Rocky Top. Whitney and Carlin make plans for their store with Zach and Chad. The girls are concerend that they will grow out of this space quickly like they grew out of the warehouse in Zach and Whitney's backyard.
Gil and Kelly take Lawson, Katie, Travis and the younger kids to Gatlinburg. They head up to take ziplines however Judson, Jeb and Callie do not meet the weight requirement and are unable to take the ziplines. Kelly, Katie and Travis take the three to do gem-mining. Katie asks if there is a ring in there since she thinks that Travis wants one.
Callie reveals that they all thought that there was going to be a ring for Katie in one of them. Jeb and Callie both agree that would have been a perfect proposal plan. Travis reveals that he still has a year and half left of school but Katie thinks that he might propose sooner than that.
Gil reveals that he is trying to think the word engagement is something that he is going to pretend is down the road so they are going to wait and see. He just prays that it's a long time down the road. He adds that no one has talked to him yet.
Katie's turning 20 and celebrating her special day with Travis; Katie, Travis, Gil, Kelly Jo, Lawson, Isaiah and some of the younger kids head to the Smoky Mountains for some outdoor birthday fun.
Maci is two months old.
She recently celebrated her sister's birthday. She also celebrated her first Easter with her family
Gil says that the family is trying to have the right spirit and attitude about the good and the bad things as God is working them all for something good even when they can't see it.
Erin, Whitney, and Carlin's business has grown within a year and they need more space and are considerring to open a store front.
Many of the family members contracted COVID but Erin has struggled with it the most. Her recovery has been long and she has fequent headaches, fatigue, nausea, and a sore throat. Tammy (Chad's mom) has come to help out with the grandchildren. Chad says that with Erin being down that meant half of him is gone. He reveals that it blows him away with how strong his wife is. Due to Erin's complications, they are unsure if it's covid related or possibly Lyme Disease.
Kelton and Josie are finishing up the final touches on their renovations. After trying to get pregnant for a few months, Josie suffered a miscarriage. Josie remembers that they had many emotions. Josie's doctor doesn't think that her miscarriage was caused by the same condition that some of the other girls have but ends up having blood work done to investigate.
Josie gives an update on her business, Effortless Beauty. Josie and her friend, Grace are doing hair and makeup for weddings and events. Her sister Katie has joined the team. Both Katie and Josie are taking advance makeup course online. Katie has not determind if she is going to move to NJ when she and Travis get married. She says that if it was up to her then they would be engaged tomorrow but they are taking their time. She reveals to Grace and Josie that she will work in the business for about a year.
Zach has been busy working at the Sheriff department for the past ten years and have been working at least 50 to 60 hours a week. He is planning to leave the law enforcement and return to the family business. Gil says that he made the same decision when he left his job at the sale company and started the tree business.
Meanwhile in Flordia, Alyssa has some news to share with John. They are expecting their fourth child. They do a live-stream with the gender reveal. The couple has friends help pull it off. One of the friends call Gil right before to tell him so he can shoot a power cannon in Tenessee right as the gender is announced by John and Alyssa.
Kelly heads to spend some time with Michaella to catch up on life. Michaella is waiting to take her nursing state boards. Kelly reveals some medical issues that she has been dealing with. Kelly reveals that she has Gerds which has turned to Barrett's Esophagus. Kelly is terrified when she was told that she has pre-cancerous cells. Her meds are not working which means that Kelly will need to have surgery.
Lawson is at LA airprot to pick up Esther Faith who is going to have life-saving surgery. Nathan reveals that this took so much effort to pull off since it took 10 doctors. Nurses had to travel back and forth to the Philippiness to take care of the sweet little girl. Lawson and Nathan travel with Esther to Orlando where she will have the surgery. The surgery is sucessful and it will be the only surgery that she will need. She will be able to return home and live a happy normal life.
Bringing Up Bates is returning this Thursday for their 10th season! Be sure to check out our post on Tuesday for our first episode preview of the new season. Be sure to also check out our post on Thursday for our first episode recap of the season.
Birthdays:
* Chad Paine
* Allie Webster
* Carlin Stewart
* Ellie Bates
All about Grandbabies:
* All about Maci (Two months old)
Bringing Up Bates:
* Recap
* Preview
Other Posts:
* May Birthdays and anniversary cover
