- Allie turned 1 month old
- Chad and Erin welcomed baby Carson
- Bradley turns 7 months old
- John and Alyssa just celebrated their first year of marriage
- Brandon and Michaella revealed their wedding date
- Erin celebrated her birthday
- Warden celebrated his birthday
- Erin celebrated her first mother's day
- Alyssa celebrated her first mother's day
- Whitney celebrated her first mother's day
- Kelly celebrated Mother's day
Welcome to the Bates family blog! Gil and Kelly have been married since 1987 and have nineteen children. Twelve of the children are married. They have thirty-five grandchildren with three on the way. They have two foster grandchildren.
Showing posts with label Kelly. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kelly. Show all posts
Sunday, May 31, 2015
What happen in the month of May?
Monday, February 23, 2015
Erin's pregnancy update: 25 weeks pregnant!
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Kelly's blog: Bates Go Camping
Happy New Year Everyone! It’s a chilly 36 degrees in Rocky Top today, so watching this week’s episode sure makes me miss warmer weather! I have to admit Lawson speaks the truth when he says, “it’s always hard to get going when we’re doing something as a family,” but as the Mom I’ll add, it’s always worth it! Camping is an activity that is a lot of work for mom and dad and it may not be restful (especially with snoring), but we make those sacrifices anyway because we know it will be a great family memory for the kids. It was also a breath of fresh air to get away from the busyness, the hectic schedules and responsibilities (I’m sure a lot of moms can relate). One of Gil’s favorite tidbits of advice for families is, “You need to come apart, so you don’t come apart.” It’s a play on words, but what it means is that families need to have some get away time together to help spare them from the feelings of being overwhelmed, which often can infiltrate a mom’s overworked mind. Another favorite bit of advice Gil gives is, “Families that play together, stay together.” We suggest having lots of “making memories” time together. Years later, no one will remember how hard it was to plan or to pack or to sleep there…but they’ll all remember the laughter when Tori backed into the trailer. They’ll remember laughing when the canoe tipped or when dad kept the entire lot of campers awake with his snoring. They’ll remember all of the great times together and all will be treasured memories. That’s what family is all about! I hope this encourages you to make more time for making memories.
Love, Kelly
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Homeschooling
For us, homeschooling is one of the most rewarding choices we have made. Gil and I both went to public school and continued to college, and we learned to value our education and the opportunities we had. It is because we think education is so important, that we came to realize homeschooling was a wonderful option.
With homeschooling, a parent has the freedom to personally evaluate their curriculum choices and make decisions that are best suited for their child’s learning style. Parents can also choose the methods of teaching that meets the child’s needs, whether by DVDs, computer, workbooks, hands on lessons, one on one tutoring, or a combination. You have the ability to cater to your specific circumstances. For us, those benefits are enormous, because with 19 children, we have come to realize that they are each very unique. Curricula that appealed to one’s learning style put another one to sleep, but if we changed the curriculum or method of teaching, they became miraculously attentive. As a parent, I can watch, study, and diagnose my child’s strengths, weaknesses, fears, tendencies, attitudes, etc. I can observe what motivates them and what helps them succeed. I can weed out curriculum choices that don’t seem to work with a particular child. I can switch gears, switch goals, switch game plans and adjust as needed, because homeschooling provides the flexibility to cater to each child.
We not only liked the ability to choose our own curriculum because of the child’s needs, but also because of the content of that curriculum. Our faith is the most important foundation of our family, so we wanted curricula that supported our faith and that focused on character, as well as high education standards. We wanted books that included the whole history, that didn’t weed out the prayers and other important facts that used to be in our grandparent’s books. We wanted to make sure the books selected were done carefully, by us, not by a committee that might not know our child, our faith, or the content of the books being selected. Homeschooling gave us the ability to become involved, and we felt that was a worthy investment in our children's lives.
Homeschooling also helped us prepare our children to face the world. There are many misconceptions about homeschooling. One huge misconception is that homeschooler’s won’t be prepared for life. If you take a tender young plant and put it in the harsh winter environment, it will likely die or will become very weak. However, if you put it in a greenhouse until it becomes strong, then you can transplant it outside, and when the winter storms come, it will be strong enough to survive. I saw many of my young friends in school get caught up by the pressures of drugs, immorality, and other harmful choices that led them down a path of sorrow. Yes, many survived, but some were shaken in their faith and values. Does that mean all homeschoolers have a happy ending? …Not always, the same dangers can await homeschoolers too. I think there are many factors involved: negative peer pressure, their home life, their relationship with the Lord, the music and media and other influences they expose themselves to, the goals they set, the friends they hang around, etc. So why did we think homeschooling was a better choice for us? We felt that if we tried to establish a healthy, happy home life, and if we tried to protect from many of the negative influences that often creep in, and if we filled that home life with faith in Christ and a commitment to live in a way that would please Him, then we could create a safe haven, like a greenhouse, that could produce strong plants. As our children began to mature, we encouraged them to pursue opportunities to serve their community, because we felt homeschooling had helped us provide them sturdy roots.
Check back next month for the next homeschooling post…I hope to to share some of the things that have or haven’t worked for us, along with some ideas we have seen other homeschool moms utilize. I hope to hear ideas from many of you as well. May God give each of us strength to continue investing in our children’s lives, for His glory!
With homeschooling, a parent has the freedom to personally evaluate their curriculum choices and make decisions that are best suited for their child’s learning style. Parents can also choose the methods of teaching that meets the child’s needs, whether by DVDs, computer, workbooks, hands on lessons, one on one tutoring, or a combination. You have the ability to cater to your specific circumstances. For us, those benefits are enormous, because with 19 children, we have come to realize that they are each very unique. Curricula that appealed to one’s learning style put another one to sleep, but if we changed the curriculum or method of teaching, they became miraculously attentive. As a parent, I can watch, study, and diagnose my child’s strengths, weaknesses, fears, tendencies, attitudes, etc. I can observe what motivates them and what helps them succeed. I can weed out curriculum choices that don’t seem to work with a particular child. I can switch gears, switch goals, switch game plans and adjust as needed, because homeschooling provides the flexibility to cater to each child.
We not only liked the ability to choose our own curriculum because of the child’s needs, but also because of the content of that curriculum. Our faith is the most important foundation of our family, so we wanted curricula that supported our faith and that focused on character, as well as high education standards. We wanted books that included the whole history, that didn’t weed out the prayers and other important facts that used to be in our grandparent’s books. We wanted to make sure the books selected were done carefully, by us, not by a committee that might not know our child, our faith, or the content of the books being selected. Homeschooling gave us the ability to become involved, and we felt that was a worthy investment in our children's lives.
Homeschooling also helped us prepare our children to face the world. There are many misconceptions about homeschooling. One huge misconception is that homeschooler’s won’t be prepared for life. If you take a tender young plant and put it in the harsh winter environment, it will likely die or will become very weak. However, if you put it in a greenhouse until it becomes strong, then you can transplant it outside, and when the winter storms come, it will be strong enough to survive. I saw many of my young friends in school get caught up by the pressures of drugs, immorality, and other harmful choices that led them down a path of sorrow. Yes, many survived, but some were shaken in their faith and values. Does that mean all homeschoolers have a happy ending? …Not always, the same dangers can await homeschoolers too. I think there are many factors involved: negative peer pressure, their home life, their relationship with the Lord, the music and media and other influences they expose themselves to, the goals they set, the friends they hang around, etc. So why did we think homeschooling was a better choice for us? We felt that if we tried to establish a healthy, happy home life, and if we tried to protect from many of the negative influences that often creep in, and if we filled that home life with faith in Christ and a commitment to live in a way that would please Him, then we could create a safe haven, like a greenhouse, that could produce strong plants. As our children began to mature, we encouraged them to pursue opportunities to serve their community, because we felt homeschooling had helped us provide them sturdy roots.
Check back next month for the next homeschooling post…I hope to to share some of the things that have or haven’t worked for us, along with some ideas we have seen other homeschool moms utilize. I hope to hear ideas from many of you as well. May God give each of us strength to continue investing in our children’s lives, for His glory!
Friday, October 31, 2014
October is over
October is finally here and the Bates had a lot of celebration that they did
* Chad and Erin celebrated 11 months of marriage
* Katie celebrated her birthday
* Zach and Whitney celebrated 10 months of marriage
* John and Alyssa celebrated five months of marriage
* Kelly celebrated her birthday
* Zach and Whitney welcomed their son!
* Chad and Erin celebrated 11 months of marriage
* Katie celebrated her birthday
* Zach and Whitney celebrated 10 months of marriage
* John and Alyssa celebrated five months of marriage
* Kelly celebrated her birthday
* Zach and Whitney welcomed their son!
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Mama Bates Birthday
Today is Kelly's birthday!We hope that she enjoys her day. What could be better if Bradley makes his appearance today on her birthday?
Kelly has had a lot of changes since her last birthday. Three of her children have gotten married and her oldest daughter is in a courtship also She is going to be a grandmother any day now when Bradley is ready to come out!
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
October is here!
October is starting right now!
The Bates currently have three birthdays right now but at the end of this month they will have four birthdays.
Bradley is expected to arrive some time this month
Chad and Erin have been for 11 months
Zach and Whitney have been married for 10 months
John and Alyssa have been married for five months
Birthday blogs
* Katie has a birthday on October 5th
* Isaiah has a birthday on October 16th
* Kelly has a birthday on October 26th
The Bates currently have three birthdays right now but at the end of this month they will have four birthdays.
Bradley is expected to arrive some time this month
Chad and Erin have been for 11 months
Zach and Whitney have been married for 10 months
John and Alyssa have been married for five months
Birthday blogs
* Katie has a birthday on October 5th
* Isaiah has a birthday on October 16th
* Kelly has a birthday on October 26th
Sunday, September 28, 2014
October birthdays
 |
| Katie was born on October 5th |
 |
| Kelly was born on October 26th |
 |
| Bradley is due to arrive on October 22nd! |
 |
| Isaiah was born on October 16 |
Saturday, August 23, 2014
Is Kelly pregnant??
We get so many questions if Kelly is pregnant with her twenty child and we can reassure you that she is not pregnant with baby number 20
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)