Erin the Musician.

As many of you may know, 21 year old Erin Bates is quite the talented pianist! She began piano lessons at the age of 7, and she is now a distinguished musician who highly enjoys the piano. Erin has been attending Crown College of the Bible for the last 3 years to get a degree in Music Ministry, and she's only 1 a short year away from that goal. She has even been giving some of her younger siblings piano lessons over the past few years!

A few years ago, in 2010, Erin released her first CD of piano music, entitled Merciful and Mighty. It can be purchased here. Since then, she has been working earnestly, and her work has paid off--just this month, she released her second CD, Down Home Gospel! Erin's newest CD features "upbeat, hand clapping & foot stomping, Southern Gospel appeal".

Here Erin talking about her new CD and her music career in the video below:

Erin's latest CD can be purchased through the Bates family website, at this link. You can also hear some samples of Erin's beautiful music on the page!

What do you think of Erin's music? Do you plan or purchasing her CD's?

Happy 19th Birthday, Nathan!

Today is Nathan Bates 19th Birthday! He is Gil & Kelly's 5th child and third boy. What is Nathan up to these days? Well, he has completed his First Responder training and enjoys volunteering with the fire department. He is Gil's right-hand man in the family's tree service company and he is planning to get a degree in Biblical studies. Nathan has a lot going on in his life right now and he is blossoming into quite the man!

 Happy Birthday, Nathan!

Fun fact: Did you know that Nathan's given name is not actually "Nathan"? His actual first name is William and his full name is William Nathaniel Bates, but he goes by Nathan.

"19 In Training" and "Bates and Duggar Reunion" Recap

On tonight's episodes of United Bates of America...

19 In Training. 

• The Bates family home schools their children. Kelly teaches all of the children (between the 19 of them, there is a kid in almost every grade!), and she says that even after so many years going through workbooks, she's still learning herself! 
• Music is also a very important skill in the Bates family. Erin teaches many of the kids piano, and most of the girls learn to play violin while the guys usually learn to play a bluegrass instrument. 
• Since they home school, the kids don't go through fire drills like a public school would have. Gil and Kelly set aside time to talk to their kids about what to do in case of emergency--Nathan even put on his fire gear to show them that firemen aren't scary! 
• Erin attends Crown College and is working towards a degree is Music Ministry. It was an adjustment from homeschooling for her, but now that's almost in her Senior year, she's well adjusted and loving it!
• The younger kids have been eager to learn to cook, so Kelly takes them on a trip to the store to buy ingredients for fried chicken! Katie & Josie, the 2 youngest cooking this time, took to it the most, while some of the girls, like Tori, have no interest in cooking whatsoever.
• Kelly handles all of the academic education for the kids, but as for physical education, it's all Gil! In high school, Gil was very into wrestling, so he thought it would be fun to teach the kids some of his moves for P.E. class on this occasion. The boys loved it, while the girls stuck to observing. 

Bates and Duggar Reunion.

• The ATI Regional Conference in Big Sandy, Texas is an annual event that the Bates look forward to all year It's a fun time to catch up with old friends and refocus.
• Before heading out the the conference, they have to pack! With 21 people, packing is no small job. Everyone old enough packs for themselves, but Michaela oversees it all and helps with packing for the younger kids. Organization is key! 
• On the way to Big Sandy, Zach, who was driving another vehicle behind Gil, accidentally hit the van. No one was hurt in the wreck, and after checking everything out, they're relieved to find out the van is just fine.
• Stopping at a hotel is also something that takes planning--the Bates need 4 rooms, and they've found that it works best for the older girls to share a room, the older boys to share a room, and then Gil & Kelly share a room with some of the little kids as does Michaela.
• The Bates have been friends with the Duggar's for over 15 years, and they don't get to see each other often, but when they do, they have the best time catching up!
• The ATI conference has a little something for everyone; there is ALERT for the boys (similar to a Boy Scout camp), a homemaking class for the girls, and plently of songs and activities to keep the younger kids occupied. 
• The Bates children choose to court, or "date with a purpose", as Kelly calls it. Their goal is to guard their hearts as they prepare for marriage and not date guys "just because". 
• The kids performed a song for the crowd at the conference. They're used to performing songs together, but this was a new song they hadn't rehearsed! Thankfully, it all worked out perfectly. Gil and Kelly also shared with the crowd some of the wisdom they've gained over the years.

What did you think of tonight's episodes? Do your children enjoy cooking, or are they like Tori?