RETURNING: 19 Kids & Counting: Courtships & A Wedding

The Duggars are back - and they have a lot to catch up on! Erin Bates got married last fall, then Zach Bates in December, and with Jill Duggar already engaged (but has not yet even met Derick on the series), it'll be a busy season! Over in Washington, D.C., Anna is homeschooling four-year-old Mackynzie, and it looks like the rest of the Duggars will be heading East for another visit - perhaps even Thanksgiving or Christmas! Still, each family member takes life at his or her own speed, and there are bound to be little moments that are just as important as graduations and weddings!

TLC

19 Kids and Counting "A Duggar Says Yes" (S08E01): Ben started going to the Duggars' church back in the spring, and five months later, began courting Jessa. Ben is 18, the oldest of seven kids, and lives in another part of Arkansas where he is a freshman at a community college and is also doing auto glass windshield repairs. [I love how Michelle stared at Jim Bob as Ben leads up to asking to court Jessa. but was Jim Bob seriously videotaping it?? it does sound like other young men have come along!] Jessa is 20 and has been strong-willed since childhood. She's opinionated, not overly emotional, and loyal, so the couple thinks their personalities complement each other. Ben helps out with family projects, and Jessa's brothers have a chance to interrogate the young man. Jessa takes up a larger interest in cooking, so she helps with more dinner. [does she really strike up an interest? or is she told to have that interest?]

Michelle and Jessa go to check out Ben's family for the weekend, and in preparing, the older girls (plus Joy for once!) talk about what will be changing in the household. John-David flies them down there, and the 200-mile flight takes them 40 minutes. [John-David really does try so many different things!] Jessa and Ben go on a double-date with his parents while Michelle watches the other kids. [normally, you'd think it woudl be awkward to watch a bunch of strangers' kids, no?] The Seewald extended family comes over for a potluck meal as well. [it was very cute that Jessa thought Ben genuinely wanted to discuss theology at first.] Meanwhile, JimBob takes the kids out for a pizza buffet.

19 Kids and Counting "Double Dating Duggars" (S08E02): JimBob and Michelle take Ben and Jessa to play mini-golf and talk to them about the expectations of their courtship.[purposely being sensual around your child and hoping they don't have the same type of desires is ridiculous.]

Jill and her group (JoyAnna, James, and Jennifer) make pickles.

Anna puts together a playhouse for the kids, and has started homeschooling Mackenzie.

19 Kids and Counting "Another Courtship?" (S08E3): Jill talks to Derick online, who is in Nepal. She asks JimBob if the two of them can go to Nepal to meet him, and he's open to the idea, having been the young man's prayer partner for some time. Michelle plays chess with Jeremiah, but struggles. [we've looked at Jeremiah's hobby before, so it's nice to see he's sticking with an interest.]

Anna demonstrates worksheets with Mackenzie.

The Duggar kids decide to put on a dinner theatre night for JimBob and Michelle, so Joy-Anna puts together a song with the little kids, and other groups have performances planned, too. [guess this will be the ongoing project this season!]

The four oldest girls work on the book they've been authoring for the past two years, and
Jinger suggests Jessa write about her own relationship, but she doesn't want to. [that answers that!]

19 Kids and Counting "Wedding Bells?" (S08E04): Ben and his mother join the Duggars on a road trip to Tennessee for Erin Bates' wedding. [is "Chad" normally a nickname for "Charles" ?] Because Erin isn't the greatest cook, the older Duggar girls (sans Jessa) decide to put together a gag gift about the woman's poor skills in the kitchen. [the fire extinguisher was a funny touch!] Jinger starts taking over the packing, which Jessa used to help with, but at least the number of kids is a little smaller - Joy Anna has started packing for herself now.

Kelly Bates isn't sure how many people are coming to the wedding, so they plan for 1,000 people. [do they not require RSVPs?] Erin ordered bridesmaid dresses online, but they didn't fit the girls right so they bought fabric and Michaela went to work making them! Erin bought a dress from a store and had it altered to be more modest. [sounds like money was no object for this ceremony, eh?] With Zach engaged to Whitney, the Bates family is very busy with upcoming nuptials. Erin shows Jessa and Ben her new home, which has a pink master bedroom. [I agree that it's a bit odd. I understand that Erin never got the dream room of a six-year-old as a kid, but as an adult it's a bit much.]

JohnDavid is in charge of trashing the getaway car, which is actually a rented vehicle. [why? also, haha at Michelle taking paint of the walls at the church with tape! and where were Josh and Anna?]