Monday, March 12, 2018

'Kendra's Birthday Surprise' Recap

Counting On "Kendra's Birthday Surprise"
  • Joy and Austin have been married for two months, and their house is still far from finished. “Hopefully we’ll be in our house within the next six months,” says Joy. Joseph comes over to lend a hand. The wedding is a month away, and he is eager for the big day to arrive.
  • At the Caldwell home, Kendra and her mom, sisters, and grandma are packing for their overnight trip to Kentucky. “The one hard part about this trip is that I won’t be able to see Joe for a little while,” says Kendra.
  • They meet up with Michelle, Jana, and Josie and then head to the airport with John-David, who will be flying them to their destination. “He is a good pilot, although I do like my feet on the ground rather than in the air,” says Jana.
  • The next morning, Joseph wakes up at 4am and catches a commercial flight to Kentucky to surprise Kendra on her birthday.
  • In Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, Kendra and the ladies spend the day at Renee Miller’s bridal shop searching for a dress. Mt. Sterling small business owner Ashley (The Blue Rose) makes sketches of the dresses that Renee has prepared so Kendra can get an idea of what she likes before trying the gowns on.
  • During the dress fitting, Joe and Kendra video chat so Joe can wish his future bride a happy birthday. Kendra thinks Joe is back in Arkansas working, but he is actually in town.
  • When Kendra tries on the first dress, she falls in love with the sparkly top, so now all she has to do is find a bottom that she loves just as much. (The bottom is too simple for her tastes.)
  • The second skirt has too many ruffles for Kendra. The third skirt is more of a horsehair braid, which she likes, but is poufier than Kendra would like. “I could tell by looking at Kendra that it wasn’t her favorite,” says Kendra’s mom, Christina. 
  • The fourth skirt is “the one.” It has the perfect amount of pouf, volume, and horsehair braid, and everyone loves it, especially Kendra. 
  • “Miss Renee did an amazing job on the dress,” says Kendra. “She definitely nailed it.”
  • Kendra puts on a veil, and the tears start flowing. “She’s my rock,” says Lauren. “She’s always there for me and [is] my best friend. I love Joe and Kendra. I think they’re perfect for each other but…I’m definitely going to miss her.”
  • Meanwhile, Joseph stops at Spoonful of Sugar to pick up a birthday cake. The one he chooses is purple, has two layers, and has lots of ruffles (just like the the dresses Kendra is trying on!). The bakery is right next to the bridal shop, so Joe has to be sneaky.  
  • John, who has just been hanging out all day, meets Joe at Tomatoes and Flames, a pizza shop around the corner. “I didn’t go wedding dress shopping,” says John. “I didn’t need one, so I stayed away.” The brothers set up pink table cloths, flameless candles, and balloons.
  • The ladies walk over to the pizza place, and Kendra is elated when she sees Joe standing inside the door. “I can’t believe you’re here,” she whispers, as she gives him a full-on frontal hug. Joe and Kendra say they try to stick to side hugs but that they do sometimes forget and end up giving frontal hugs.
  • Down in Laredo, Jinger and Jeremy welcome friends James and Seung, who live in New York City, for a visit. Jeremy has known them for five years, and Jinger has enjoyed getting to know them since meeting Jeremy.  “Jeremy and I both love hosting people,” says Jinger. “We have two guest bedrooms…so that has been really nice. 
  • They find a mini golf course and team up for a couples match. “As a former professional athlete, I definitely do not like to lose,” says Jeremy. “You play for a purpose, and the purpose is to win, so why play if you are going to be content losing?” 
  • James and Seung end up winning. Jeremy is not impressed by his performance, but he is proud of Jinger. “Like most things, Jinger performed better,” says Jeremy. “Jinger seems to be a natural at most everything she puts her hand to.”
  • James and Seung make a delicious dinner for the Vuolos, although grilling outdoors in temperatures of 105 degrees is a bit brutal. During the meal, the couples discuss family planning. Both couples have been talking about it. “I think the two of them are really enjoying the time that they have together now,” says James of Jinger and Jeremy. 

67 comments:

  1. Are you gonna recap Gideon’s birth special? It’s on tlc go

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    1. I just watched it.....wow amazed the midwife did not realize the baby was breach. At his size he would not have been able to turn for a while. Home births are safe unless there are complications and breach is a complication. I really feel like they let her labor longer than she should have with a large breach baby....thankful baby was ok and all is well. Was Jill the midwife?

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    2. Thank you - I didn't know it was on there. Watched it and thought they did a great job covering his birth!

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    3. Recap:
      Joy labors at home for a long time before an midwife suddenly discovers that the baby is too big/ wrong direction and it’s time for the race to the hospital for a c section, which will then be covered up to give the illusion of a wonderful home birth.

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    4. What do you mean it will be covered up? They already released all the details and showed pictures of the c-section.

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    5. If they're showing that she went to the hospital for a c-section, then it's not exactly a cover-up, is it? Yes, I know about the hospital picture that went missing, but they let us know it was a hospital birth. I think it's time to let that one die.

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    6. 8:11- There's a pattern here with these traumatic and lengthy attempts at home birth, with rushed trips to the hospital. One wonders if it's been the same midwife each time. In any event, it doesn't seem to beworking out too well. They're not doing much for the home birth/midwifery reputation.

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    7. Uh, how can you "cover up" something that is shown on national TV? Certainly they held back on releasing details. But what would the point be of "covering up" something for only 3 weeks? That's no more of a cover up than an expectant couple knowing the gender of their baby, but opting to wait until the birth to tell others.

      I am a little more miffed that the main show is so behind current events, when clips like these show it only takes 3 weeks to edit and produce the final product.

      It also occurred to me that a lot of casual viewers who watch the show but don't follow Duggar news outside it, just found out about Kendra's pregnancy from this video clip. Or will when it's shown on cable TV next week. That's odd, too. You'd think that if they were so concerned about saving big reveals for the show, that they wouldn't have included that. If there's any grand coverup conspiracy going on, they're certainly not doing a great job of it.

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    8. I’m really afraid that one of these young women or their babies are going to be damaged from these home births they all want. I’m not anti home birth as long as a qualified nurse mid-wife is assisting, and it is a low risk pregnancy. I would assume a qualified mid-wife wasn’t in attendance since it was decided after 20 hours that the baby was large and in a breach presentation. These women are giving mid-wives a bad reputation. I just hope that Jeremy insists on Jinger either giving birth in the hospital or using a qualified (not Jill) mid-wife. This is getting ridiculous.

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    9. 10:42, I fully agree. I am 100% pro homebirth, it’s what I plan to do, but you HAVE to have someone qualified helping you, especially if it’s your first baby and you know it’s going to be huge!

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    10. It is getting ridiculous. Too many things have gone wrong. Maybe the Duggars should change their "I Survived Roe v. Wade" t-shirts to "I Survived a Home Birth Attempt."

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    11. The problem is the midwife in attendance are not certified nurse midwives. They are more like midwife assistants.

      Home births are safe as long as there is a qualified midwife and the pregnancy is low risk. Leaving a woman to labor for 20 hours is dangerous for the child. A qualified midwife would have known that the child was large and given the size of the mother would have insisted the labor take place in a hospital,where the child could be monitored for distress.

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    12. Can't watch Gideon birth as I'm UK. However, it was obvious Joy was having a large baby (cf to Jinger) and she is of a small height/build so it's unlikely a baby would easily turn at that point if breach. But it's a possibility the baby's head may have been engaged and as labour progressed slipped out and became breach - we don't know.
      Looking at the neat size of Jinger' bump hopefully her birth will be easier.

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    13. @ 10:42 PM - I also am very concerned for the health of these moms and their babies in these home birth attempts that include very long labours and then transfers to hospitals. I seriously hope nobody gets injured or loses a loved one in all of this. It actually makes me sad that they have continued to put their lives at risk like this especially with the birthing history the Duggar sisters have. Since life/babies are so important, why would they do this to their babies? themselves? It's time to be wise about this.

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    14. Anon at 10:42: I am also getting very concerned that something tragic will eventually happen to either one of the Duggar daughters or in-laws, the baby, or both. Or even to a Duggar fan inspired to have a home birth from watching the show. The video clip also gives the impression what happened was just a quirk of fate that couldn't be prevented. That is very misleading. A routine ultrasound would have revealed that Joy was NOT having a low risk pregnancy.

      I have no issues with the idea of a homebirth, IF the mother has a low - risk pregnancy and the birthing attendants are qualified. But Joy's pregnancy was NOT low-risk. She had a large baby who was in a breech presentation. Even if she only had one of these complications, she should have given birth in a hospital. Or at least not waited 20 hours to go to one.

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    15. My mom had all three of her births at home. She had a doctor there. He specialized in home births. He had a docors that patients went to during their pregnancies.

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    16. In another point of view it seems like the girls are wanting to do home births because it adds more drama to the show. I mean how much more boring can it get if they just all went to the hospital and gave birth and all went well. I feel like they know all the risks but are willing to take them for the show. I dont know, just a thought.

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    17. I'm kind of wondering don't these girls see an OB during the pregnancy, especially in the last 2 weeks or so? How could they (Joy, Austin, a midwife) not know the baby was breech??? There's this great invention called a sonogram and that's one of its prime uses. As the momma of a breech baby, I'm shaking my head. We knew well in advance that she was going to be breech because we went to the OB for sonograms. We also knew the danger in trying to turn the baby (the cord can wrap around the baby's neck sight unseen and strangle the baby in the turning attempt). The scheduled C-section saved me an unproductive labor and our daughter from a number of issues.

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    18. Back in prehistoric days when I gave birth, I was given an x-ray when I went into labor, to check the baby's size and position. Nowadays they can use ultrasound if there's any question. That is, if you're in the proper facility. I still can't believe that a first-time mother with what was obviously going to be a very big baby who might have been heads-up was allowed to labor at home. Anyone with common sense could see that wasn't the best plan. Joy should have been the first one to say (months ago) take me to a hospital for this because I'm concerned for myself and for the baby. I hope Jinger and Kendra were watching.

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    19. Anon @12:31 Your comment made me lol, it is funny, but sadly very true!

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  2. so did jinger stop herself from getting pregnant right of so her and jeremy had that 1st yr alone if so i think it was a good idea they got to know each other better and as we know once kids come along mum and dad do not get a lot of alone time

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  3. We had a Duggarlious night. Made Tater Tot Casserole and watched Counting On. The kids loved it!

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  4. Kendra's dress was lovely, and fit her personality so well. I think it's my favorite of the dresses designed by Renee so far.

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  5. Another great episode. Love John-David's dry sense of humor, asking Joe how long it took him to make that birthday cake. So funny!

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    1. And so peculiar, how that cake just happened to be sitting front and center at the bakery, waiting for a big K to be added.

      Why can't they tell the truth on this show?? That cake was special-ordered, baked days in advance, then iced and placed there for the camera. Joe didn't just wander into that shop and say he'd like a cake "like that one."

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    2. He carries himself like a much older man.

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    3. Yes they should have showed Joe doing what probably really happened, calling the bakery in advance and placing the cake order. Then he wouldn't have had to sneak next door at risk of being seen. Tired of all the little deceptions like that on this show.

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    4. He may not have known about the cake. Towns talk. They were probably told that a episode was going to filmed there just as a heads up. She being a smart baker put her bEST work out there. He asked her opinion , she recommended that cake. It didn't have the "K" on it already it was plain. I just think she was a smart baker.I know when they film movies in our little town we know months ahead of time.

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    5. 12:29, I love the Duggars, but that had me cracking up, like suuuure that wasn’t scripted

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    6. 3:35 I agree. It makes sense that they told the baker that they were going to film her shop. It would look strange if she didn’t have any cakes set up when they went to film.

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    7. Actually, Joe didn't even out and out lie, everything he said in that scene was consistent with him having ordered that cake in advance, and him just making small talk with the baker when picking it up and making final arrangements on the design.

      And certainly the baker knew in advance. While I'm sure most shopkeepers would welcome free publicity, that doesn't mean they'd be fine with it if a film crew suddenly showed up behind a customer with no advance warning at all. They'd probably want time to spiffy the place up, hide anything that could give away trade secrets, etc.

      I can also imagine some people wouldn't want to be associated with the Duggars at all. Depending on their primary clientele, that could be bad, not good, publicity for their business.

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  6. I really like Kendra and Joe. I think they are so sweet. I can't wait to see their baby 😄

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    1. Ugh. The tabloid ruined them for me with the whole Kendra was Jeddiah’s ex-girlfriend. I hope it isn’t true.

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    2. Elizabeth, don't let your opinion or enjoyment be spoiled by a tabloid!

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    3. Hi Elizabeth. Remember, they don't really date as much as they court. Unless it came from Jed and Kendra, I wouldn't put too much stock into it. :)

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    4. Elizabeth, consider that even if true, "my ex married my brother" isn't anywhere near as icky in this context as it would be for most celebrities. I've heard rumors too but no one has accused Kendra of actually cheating on Jed.

      BTW this is one reason the Duggars prefer courtship to dating. Even if Kendra had some kind of relationship with Jed, it didn't involve anything physical. And really I doubt there was enough of a relationship to say Kendra is Jed's "ex". Maybe an ex-crush, if that.

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  7. the more i see of joseph the more i like him! what a sweetheart of a guy! he and john-david did a great job decorating but john-david was too cute with his 'angling' of the table cloths, lol. you can tell he's paid attention to his sisters

    i was a little surprised to see jill on a couple of comments though. didnt think she was going to be on anymore

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    1. Glad to see Jill, missing her! 😊

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    2. Jill is just in the flashbacks, which is kind of nice. No new filming of her, but flashbacks is a great way of still keeping her visible to us.

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    3. I enjoyed seeing the little bit of Jill flashbacks too.

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    4. Probably,since TLC already compensated the Duggars, flash backs do not cost them anything more.

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    5. Pretty sure that if the Duggars sold the rights to air those clips with Jill, then they belong to TLC and they are free to use them again in "flashbacks", commercials, etc. (Not 100% sure because Derek recently claimed he and Jill never got paid by TLC.)

      But I do recall, a long time ago, a news story being taped at my school, and a bunch of kids were interviewed. My interview was never shown, just me being in a crowd, but I still had to sign a release to have my face shown for one second. And I wasn't paid for that. So I assume the footage still belongs to TLC as long as Jill released the rights to them, even if she wasn't paid for it.

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  8. Great episode! I’m liking Kendra & Joe more and more. John David has a dry cute sense of humor. The family must be proud of him as a pilot, which is no easy feat to accomplish. One thing I wish someone could would be to give Michelle a hair trim.

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    1. Getting a pilot license is not difficult. It just takes money.

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    2. Children can get pilot's licenses. You just need to be able to afford the lessons which are quite expensive. I do wonder who picks up the tab for the cost of the Duggar plane and the numerous trips they take in it.

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    3. Anon at 12:48PM: Perhaps it's not that difficult technically, but most people would not have the guts to take up the training in the first place. I certainly wouldn't.

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    4. If they can pay for pilot's license lessons, the plane, the upkeep, and the trips, they can pay for college!

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    5. But if John David wanted to be a pilot, and just work at General Aviation type jobs flying small planes, why add on the additional expense of college?

      (And I specify GA because I think a job flying a passenger plane for a major airline *may* require college credits. However most commercial pilots spend a lot of time away from their families, and I assume JD wouldn't be interested in that lifestyle.)

      Now, I'd certainly be happy if a Duggar went to college, but only if they really wanted to. College education isn't for everyone.

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  9. What is Ben Seewald’s job?

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    1. I would like to know, too. At one point, I thought he was a student of theology? Not sure, though.

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    2. I thought he was a long-distance student in some program that required you to be on campus for the last part of the program. I thought for sure that we'd be hearing an announcement by now that the Seewalds were moving north.

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    3. I was wondering the same thing. Could we get an update of all the careers of the older “kids”?

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    4. They all work for Jim Bob.

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  10. What in the world is a horse braid skirt? Isn’t horse braid something that’s used in the creation of the skirt? I didn’t realize it was a style.

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    1. Horsehair braid (rather than horse braid as Kendra calls it) is sewn into the hemlines of each layer to give more shape to the fabric and to the dress. Otherwise, the fabric would just be flat.

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  11. The Vuolos don't have 2 guest bedrooms any more...

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  12. How can anyone stay in business by making 4 different versions of a wedding dress when only 1 will sell? She has done this each time and it seems so wasteful.

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    1. I get the feeling TLC picked up the tab for all of Renee's expenses and then some. And even if she only got paid for one dress up front, I'm sure she appreciates the free publicity her business gets out of being on TV. She might even get paid for being on TV, apart from the dress itself. I'm sure that even if she didn't make much profit from the dress itself, she made up for that by saving on advertising expenses.

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    2. She made one top with 4 different skirts or bottoms.

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    3. She can alter it to sell to someone else.

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    4. Ellie was there, so she can answer this. What happened to the other skirts? How is Renee compensated for all the work she does for a filming? Who pays for the finished dress?

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    5. She's getting free publicity on top of the business from Jessa and Kendra so I'm sure she's okay if she doesn't sell the skirts for awhile.

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  13. Not my type of dress, but it was so sweet what Joe did. nice guy

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  14. I feel like they shouldn't make John be on camera anymore, he clearly hates it, it's unpleasant to watch.

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    1. I think you are missing his dry humor! Did you miss the "bachelor 'til the rapture" comment? He's a hoot!

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