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<p>They were renting a 3BR 1BA house before they moved into this big house. They had been building this big house for years when all of a sudden they had the money to employ others to complete it within months. It coincided with the first year of their show.</p>
<p>In addition, they have a section of their house as a “church”, thus exempting them of taxes.</p>
<p>I always have found it interesting that Michelle admits to not being a virgin before marriage, but expects her children to not even kiss before marriage. Huh? 
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<p>ema, regarding if she wants a large family… I think she should have known what she was getting into when she married the guy.</p>
<p>I know a family like this in real life. Went to college with one of the kids. Is now married and has 3 kids so far… probably 25 or so years old.</p>
<p>I’ve got two major gripes with this family… the very Pollyannish attitude that they all exhibit (well, at least on TV), even when things were so dire after baby Josie was born.</p>
<p>And two, all the processed food they feed those kids. They don’t seem to value healthy eating very much, and I don’t see that the kids get any kind of physical exercise at all (outside of all the housework they are forced to do).</p>
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<p>Seriously, considering they have the “planting of the seed” thing down, don’t they have a field to plow or garden to hoe for exercise. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>What’s with the “J” name thing? Is it supposed to be a little quirk that they have going, or what? Wouldn’t it be confusing when they can’t even tell who’s calling who? Especially between “Jana”, “Joy-Anna”, “Johannah”…</p>
<p>^^^ Then they will pray for that child to be cured. :)</p>
<p>I find the kids generally better behaved and more able to take care of themselves and others than 90% of today’s teens. As to food–who says what is all that healthy? None of them are particularly overweight and they play indoors and outdoors–that have a basketball court and other facilities. The kids are well spoken and fun-loving very nice normal kids not afraid of getting into a little mischief. Yours should turnout so well. Not my lifestyle but it works for them better than most alternatives.</p>
<p>I have a morbid fascination with this show and watch it when I can’t find anything better to watch. I believe Josh’s wife Anna is one of 7 kids, so a large family is probably normal for her.</p>
<p>^^^^ It’s a TV show! And it’s the entire package. The family is so consuming that very little can exist outside the family – no time. Homeschooling is great supplemented by on line courses, community college courses, lessons, play dates. This family seems to exist unto itself, and I don’t think that’s healthy, however it appears on carefully edited TV shows.</p>
<p>Exactly-- carefully edited is the key. Who knows how “well adjusted” these insular kids are. They could be little automatons for all we know. Seriously doubt they fall into many people’s definition of “normal”.</p>
<p>Personally I treasure my kids’ “growing pains.” They are growing away from me and into themselves. Sometimes there are bumps. Thank goodness. I wouldn’t want my 21 year old to think marriage and babies were the only things on his plate.</p>
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<p>Sure… if you consider that, when asked a question about something, you can predict how they’re going to answer it before they do…</p>
<p>“I feel so blessed.”
“We just pray to God…”
“I admire… (whichever family member they’re being asked about).”
and on and on. They don’t seem to be able to think for themselves; they regurgitate the same answers on and on.</p>
<p>It’s unnatural. Not one of those kids has ever displayed (at least on TV) an ounce of sibling jealousy. What are they afraid of?</p>
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<p>God I hope not. I would be horrified if my kids turned out like them; it’s a sort of Stepford Wives environment. I want my kids to question authority, to expand their horizons beyond their comfort zone, to define themselves outside of their immediate family, to have the freedom to discern what their God-given gifts are and pursue them without fear of abandonment of the family if it falls outside of what is expected. And if my kids occasionally cuss, get snippy, are lazy, etc., I’d rather them be that and know they know what’s best for them as they launch from the nest.</p>
<p>Yes, well bahaved teens are not natural. I was at a nice restaurant last night and at the next table were a mom. dad and teen son–about 15. He spent the entire dinner either texting or eating. He would have been enjoying that phone shoved down his throat if he did that to me. His mother asked him to stop and he just snarled and looked annoyed.</p>
<p>Gee, I’ve never watched the show & have no desire to…it sounds too much like “Stepford” family. Scary to me!</p>
<p>I imagine they think the way some other families run is scary, too. I think it’s tricky to resolutely insist that your way of doing things is better when you haven’t been in the other person shoes. It’s easy to make accusations and shudder and stare when you’ve never lived a day in their lives.</p>
<p>just because teens are not like the Duggars doesnt mean that they’re sex-crazed, pot-smoking morons</p>
<p>really, its just that those and the Duggars occupy two ends of the spectrum, there’s lots of teens in between too</p>