Love & Marriage Recap

On tonight's episode of 19 Kids and Counting, "Love & Marriage"...

• To connect as a couple after 28.5 years of marriage, Jim Bob and Michelle head to Puerto Rico for a marriage retreat. "It's always good to make a good thing better," says Michelle. She and Jim Bob are away from their children only a few nights a year.
• As the Duggars run out the door to catch their plane, Michelle reminds Grandma and the girls to set a timer every 20 minutes for potty training.
• When asked what he and Michelle hope to get out of the marriage retreat, Jim Bob jokingly responds, "number 20!"
• What does Michelle say is the most annoying thing Jim Bob does? He "plays basketball" with his sweaty, wadded up socks every night.
• What habit of Michelle's does Jim Bob find frustrating? When he calls her over to show her something, she often stops to clean up a mess or put something away. By the time, she makes it over to where Jim Bob is, the thing he wants to show her is gone.
• Is Michelle a nagging wife? "Michelle really doesn't nag," says Jim Bob. "She just lovingly encourages me."
• In Puerto Rico, Jim Bob and Michelle meet with relationship coaches Chris and Anne Hogan. Michelle shares what's on her heart: she says she and Jim Bob need to work on their communication.
• Back at home, Grandma and the older girls enjoy spending time with the younger kids while Jim Bob and Michelle are away. One morning, Anna brings over a delicious breakfast of Nutella, toast, and fruit.
• The four oldest girls (Jana, Jill, Jessa, and Jinger) speak at a birthday party while Grandma watches the little ones. She even plays a few games of foursquare with the kids.
• At the birthday party, the girls talk about relationships with boys and courtship (aka "dating with a purpose").
• Are there any Duggar courtships in the works? Jill says no. According to Jessa, the girls are in the "observing stage" but are not yet emotionally attached to any guys.
• On day two of their marriage retreat, Jim Bob and Michelle go snorkeling for their first time ever. Michelle is dressed in a WholesomeWear swimsuit, and Jim Bob wears Jeans cut off at the knee.
• On another day, the Duggars go zip lining. At 4745 feet long, La Bestia ("The Beast") is one of the longest ziplines in the world, and it is 853 feet off the ground. "I don't ever want to do that again," says Jim Bob afterwards. "Yeah me either," agrees Michelle.
• The day Mom and Dad are due to return home, Grandma and the kids are in heavy-duty cleaning mode. When it comes to cleaning, some of the kids are more thorough than others, says Jana.
• The Duggars also discuss adoption. According to Michelle, they are praying about it and waiting to see what God has in store for their family. 

Recap: Duggars Take Flight

On tonight's new episode of 19 Kids and Counting...

• Joseph is heading to ALERT (Air Land Emergency Resource Team) Academy in Big Sandy, Texas, where he will do basic training in search and rescue, survival skills, and disaster relief for nine weeks.
• Jim Bob and Michelle throw their third oldest son an 18th birthday/going-away party. This is the first time the Duggars, who usually send their kids out in pairs, have sent one of their children away for this long. "We are so grateful for Joseph's maturity," says Jim Bob.
• Before Joseph leaves for boot camp, Michelle gives him a buzz cut. "Joseph with a buzz cut is still just as handsome," says Jill.
• Jim Bob and Josh's trainer, former NFL Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Steve Conley, drops by the house for a surprise pantry check. Aside from a box of fat-free popcorn and some caramel coffee mix, Jim Bob appears to be doing well. "I think I ate all the evidence," he jokes.
• But when the Duggar dad steps on the scale, Steve is no longer smiling. Jim Bob has jumped from 203 to 207. Josh, on the other hand, has lost one pound and now weighs in at 209. It's time for intense fat burning.
• "I think Steve is punishing me during this workout because I put on some weight," says Jim Bob.
• "I'm happy about the weight-loss challenge," says Michelle. "I think this is an encouragement to be healthier."
• "Josh has been doing pretty good on his diet and exercise," says Anna. "He's really motivated."
• When it is time for Joseph to leave for ALERT, the whole family comes out to the runway to send him off. The 18-year-old is traveling in style: John-David, who has his student's pilot license, is flying his younger brother to Texas, accompanied by his instructor and Jim Bob.
• "I have been wanting to get my pilot's license for as long as I can remember," says John-David.
• "I really believe that this nine weeks is going to take Joseph from being a little boy to being a man," says Jim Bob. When they land in Texas, he gives Joseph a firm handshake, tells his son he loves him, and says goodbye.

Recap: Pushups, Planting, Coffee, and Caricatures

19 Kids and Counting "Pushups and Planting"...

• To lose weight, Jim Bob and Josh start working out with former NFL Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Steve Conley, who also happens to be a friend of a friend.
• "He scares me somewhat," says Josh. "I didn't have any kind of form, no physical fitness whatsoever. It's very embarrassing. My body has no idea what I'm trying to do."
• Steve's first order of business is to outlaw tater tot casserole, fried chicken, and sweet tea. Then he tells Jim Bob and Josh to "take that silly stuff off and go put some workout clothes on."
• Back at the house, Michelle--a big believer in hands-on learning--and the kids plant a garden as part of a homeschool lesson.
• To entertain themselves on a windy day, the little ones design kites out of black garbage bags, something that Josh and John-David did when they were kids.
• "Whatever the big ones enjoy doing, the little ones will pick it up and learn how to do it," says Michelle.
• When one of their client's water breaks, Jill and Jana head out to deliver her baby. Parents Alden and Heather couldn't be happier with their birthing team, and their new baby girl!

19 Kids and Counting "Coffee and Caricatures"...

• Jessa and Jinger prepare to volunteer at Mama Carmen's Espresso Cafe. The money they raise will be used to purchase school uniforms for an orphanage in Guatemala. The girls invite all their friends and family members to come and support the cause and enlist their younger siblings to create a donations jar.
• They arrive at the coffee shop at 5:30 a.m. to learn how to use the cash register and make a variety of different drinks (coffee, espresso, lattes, smoothies, tea, cappuccino, etc).
• Being somewhere at 5:30 a.m. is no small feat for members of this super-sized family. If you are a fan of the Duggars, you know they are not morning people. "I believe if God wanted us to see the sunrise, He would have scheduled it later on in the day," says Jessa.
• Jinger, the family's biggest coffee fan, consumes two large cups of coffee and an unknown amount of espresso while working at Mama Carmen's.
• "For a while there she was drinking like 3 cups a day," says Jessa. Jinger says she needs coffee to maintain her bubbly personality but is currently trying to bring it down to two cups a day.
• Jessa is pickier when it comes to coffee. "We're working on her, though," says Jinger.
• Cousin Amy is the first customer of the day. She orders a chocolate chip tea and then returns a few hours later with Grandma Duggar. "I need my second coffee fix," says Amy.
• While behind the counter, Jessa and Jinger fill the coffee shop's largest order yet. Can you guess who it is for? That's right, Jim Bob and Michelle bring the entire family in to order drinks, a process that takes 10 minutes.
• "Of course we just don't want them interacting with too many guys," jokes Jim Bob, who is confident in his daughters' abilities.
• "Nobody ever complained, so we don't know if we messed up or not," says Jessa. "I think we got all the orders right. I'm sure we made mistakes, but they were gracious."
• How much money do the girls end up raising? $1,010.41
• "When you're giving to other people, you can't help but be blessed yourself," says Jessa.
• Meanwhile, Jackson and Johannah are raising money of their own. Inspired by the artists they saw in Japan, the two Duggars are drawing caricatures to earn money for a baby gift for Josh and Anna. Each picture costs $1, and they raise a total of $10.

Recap: Baby On the Way

On tonight's season premiere episode of 19 Kids and Counting...

• The Duggars are moving into a new season of life. "It can be a bittersweet thing to watch your children grow up," says Michelle. "They will always be my babies."
• Jill, studying to become a midwife, is currently taking anatomy and physiology. She is also learning midwifery terms in Spanish and hopes to deliver babies in Latin American someday. Jana is focusing on the coaching aspect of childbirth and plans to become a doula.
• According to Jim Bob, daughters are harder to let go of than sons. "Our babies our delivering babies," he tells Michelle. We're getting old!"
• "They're very supportive," says Jana of her parents.
• Jana and Jill head over to A Mommy's Butterfly Midwifery, where they see 7-12 clients each week for prenatal and postpartum visits. Venessa Giron, the owner of A Mommy's Butterfly, is overseeing Jana and Jill's education and apprenticeship.
• On Mackynzie's third birthday, Josh and Anna find out they are expecting their third child. Keeping a secret from the rest of the Duggars is always difficult, says Anna. "Especially about pregnancy," says the mom of two. "They're always asking."
• For the big reveal, Anna invites Jim Bob and Michelle and the rest of the clan over for a themed dinner. The younger Duggars don't know what that is, but everyone agrees that it probably has something to do with fall.
• On the menu are tater tots, bite-sized vegetables, pigs in a blanket, sliders, and a baby carrier-shaped pumpkin filled with fruit.
• "Taking our family on for dinner is a pretty big thing," says Jill.
• Josh and Anna's kitchen is 1/6th the size of Jim Bob and Michelle's, which makes cooking for a crowd a challenge. "Kynzie loves to help," says Anna. "But it does take longer when you're trying to teach someone how to help." When she realizes that dinnertime is drawing closer and there is still a lot to do, Anna puts Mackynzie and Michael down for a nap and calls in backup...cousin Amy Duggar.   
• Anna says that if anyone can carve a pumpkin into a baby carriage, it's Amy. For the baby's head, they use a cantaloupe with a face made of fruit. 
• At 5:50, dinner is nowhere near done, and the Duggars arrive early. Anna, who was banking on "Duggar time," locks the door, and she and Josh and Amy desperately try to finish preparing dinner. "I loved keeping everyone out of the house," says Amy. "I felt like I knew something that they didn't know."
• When it comes time to guess the theme, some guess finger food, and others predict that Amy is engaged. Jim Bob jokes that Josh and Anna must be opening a restaurant and planning to hire all of Josh's siblings. At the end of the night, everyone gets a special door prize...a candy bar wrapped in a diaper.