Duggars in Texas: Photos

Last Thursday, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar and 18 of their children (all but Josh) dropped by the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, to share music and their testimony. Jim Bob ended the presentation with a challenge to SWBTS students: "Follow the Lord wherever He leads you."

“Following the Lord is an exciting adventure," the father of 19 continued, "And I pray that each one of us will follow that still, small voice of the Lord and watch Him work in our lives in a miraculous way.”

Here are a few photos from the event, which included a book-signing:

Photo credits: SWBTS Photo/Neil Williams

Josh on "The Comfort Zone": Take 2

Josh Duggar joins Ray Comfort for another segment of Living Waters' "Comfort Zone."
 
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Duggars Celebrate Sweet 16 #9

Happy Birthday, Joy-Anna Duggar!

Josh Duggar Steps Out of His "Comfort Zone"

Josh and Anna Duggar and their kids (Mackynzie, Michael, and Marcus) are in California this week. Watch Josh on Living Waters' "Comfort Zone:"

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Meet the Duggars in Tennessee: Reduced Price!

To make the event more affordable, Heartbeat Haven has reduced the price of a standard ticket from $25 to $15.

Monday, November 4th, 2013
Duggars to perform music and sign books at Heartbeats for Life

Gold ticket (6-7:00pm): Exclusive reception with the Duggars, book signing
(includes hors oeuvres and special seating; cost: $100)

Standard ticket (7-9:00pm): See the Duggars perform music, followed by a live auction (cost: $15)

Cornerstone Church
726 W. Old Hickory Blvd.
Madison, TN 37115

Proceeds will be donated to Heartbeat Haven pregnancy center in Lafayette, TN

Click here to purchase tickets

This event will kick off the Duggars' campaign for the Tennessee Abortion Amendment, which will be voted on in November 2014.

Video: Duggars in Virginia Beach

After announcing their endorsement of Ken Cuccinelli, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar and their kids made several stops across the state of Virginia, encouraging citizens to vote republican in the upcoming election for governor. In the following YouTube videos, the family shares music at a campaign event in Virginia Beach. Josh and Anna Duggar and their three children also joined the rest of the family on the campaign trail.

Recap: A Walk Down Memory Lane

"Josh & Anna: Our Story"...

• Anna grew up in a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house with a family of 10. She shared one bedroom with her four sisters, which she describes as a constant slumber party.
• Josh, as you know, is the oldest of 19. "I was a very mischievous child," he says. "My mom would be right there to say, 'I'm watching you.'"
• As a teenager, Anna says she planned to wait a while for marriage. But that changed when she met Josh at age 18. Several months later, the two began a long-distance courtship. During that time, they spent about an hour each night on conference calls with members of their family listening in. "It was really good for our hearts," says Anna, who believes a long-distance relationship helped develop their communication skills.
• Six months later, Josh asked Anna's dad for permission to marry his daughter. After getting Mr. Keller's blessing, Josh headed down to Florida on Anna's birthday to pop the question.
• During their three-month engagement, Josh and Anna saw each other only once. On the day of the wedding, Jim Bob had a conversation with his oldest son about the "birds and the bees" and gave him some "educational materials."
• The couple saved their first kiss for the altar. Both had seen their parents kiss many times and were confident they could pull it off on the first try. Anna reminded Josh to aim. 
• One of the highlights of the honeymoon, which the couple spent in Myrtle beach, was being chaperone-free for the first time. Upon returning home, they settled into their new home and began their life together.
• Just over a year into their marriage, Josh and Anna welcomed their first child. "There was nothing like seeing Mackynzie and holding her for the first time," says Anna.
• After suffering a miscarriage, Anna took another pregnancy test and got a positive result. She delivered Michael on the toilet after 16 hours of labor. In the summer of 2013, Anna barely made it to the birthing center in time for Marcus' arrival. Soon after welcoming Grand-Duggar #3, Josh and Anna headed off to the nation's capital to start a new life. 
• Having lived in Washington D.C. for three-and-a-half months, Josh and Anna say their little family has grown closer to each other. "I want to be their best friend," says Josh of his children. "I want to be there for them."
• Believe it or not, Josh and Anna didn't set out to give all their children names starting with the letter "M." Like Jim Bob and Michelle, it just sort of happened. They have more names in mind for future children, but of course, that's classified information.
• Although he is 1,200 miles away, Josh is still fulfilling his role of oldest brother: "I have a place in my heart for any guy that wants to court my sisters. It's a very hard place, a very firm place, and it's not easily shaken."

Recap: Season Finale

19 Kids and Counting "Flea Market Finale"...

• Jim Bob and Michelle gather the kids in the living room to announce their goal for the Duggar Family Flea Market: $10,000. Some of the kids are a little skeptical.  "A lot of the stuff I saw didn't look like it had a lot of value," says Jinger.
• "It's going to be all hands on deck the next few days to make this happen," says Jim Bob.
• 5 Days to Go... To get the word out, the family announces their flea market on a local radio station that both Jim Bob and Michelle listened to growing up.
• 4 Days to Go... The Duggars hold a donation drop-off. "Pretty much every car that pulled up to donate to the cause had someone in their family who had been touched by Arkansas Children's Hospital," says Michelle, who enjoys chatting with new friends.
• 3 Days to Go... Michelle and the little girls paint signs, while Grandma and the older girls make 600 cookies to sell. "I was trying to teach the girls to measure everything, but they were determined just to throw it together," says Grandma Duggar. Outside, Jim Bob and the boys organize the big items under the tents.
• 2 Days to Go.. The girls head out to the tents to organize the smaller items, while the guys work in the warehouse. Michelle gets a little sentimental when she comes across a pair of Josie's old shoes. "It definitely makes me miss having a baby in my house," says the mother of 19.
• Jessa  convinces her mom that it's time to part with them. "I'm not completely heartless," says the fifth oldest Duggar. "I just don't like when people are being a pack-rat."
• 22 Hours to Go... While sorting through racks of clothes, Jinger comes across a few of her favorite shirts and quickly claims them before someone else does.
• 1 Hour to Go... Just before the gates are opened, Josh and Anna make a surprise visit...all the way from Washington D.C. "We snuck up on them because we wanted to surprise them," says 4-year-old Mackynzie, who is thrilled to see her relatives.
• After exchanging hugs with the entire family, the eldest Duggar and his wife put on their "Buy Used Save the Difference" T-Shirts and get to work.
• In addition to a traditional flea market, the event also features a live auction, a bake sale, concessions, and a  carnival. One of the a carnival activities is a dunk tank appropriately named" Dunk A Duggar."
• During the auction, auctioneer Johannah Duggar liquidates the girls' supply of ping pong guns for a total of $80, but the boys end up raising $122 from the sale of their knives.
• After 6 hours, Michelle adds up the total raised, and Josie holds up a giant check to reveal the final amount...$18,471.50! The Duggars and all their helpers  almost doubled their initial goal. The money will be donated to NICU families at Arkansas Children's Hospital.
• At the end of the show, Jim Bob and Michelle make a big announcement...Jessa Duggar is courting! (Click here for details.) She and her special someone are getting to know each other via group text, which is monitored by Mom and Dad. "When a guy's interested in one of our daughters, our whole family checks him out," says Jim Bob.

Season Finale Tonight

Inquiring minds want to know...Is tonight really the season finale of 19 Kids and Counting? The answer is yes, but TLC has assured us that they are in full production mode for next season. New episodes of 19 Kids and Counting will return in 2014.

Tune in tonight at 9pm CST/8pm CST for "Flea Market Finale," and then stick around for "Josh & Anna: Our Story," a one-hour special featuring new interviews and photos from the couple's five years together.

A seven-hour Duggar marathon starts at 2pm EST/1pm CST this afternoon and runs until the premiere of tonight's new episodes (schedule on the Showtimes page). 

Oct 22, 9pm EST/8pm CST

Flea Market Finale

This big family is preparing for an even BIGGER event! The Duggars are gearing up for the first ever Duggar Family Flea Market to benefit Arkansas Children's Hospital. With a long to-do list and an ambitious goal, will they be able to pull it off?

Oct 22, 10pm EST/9pm CST

Josh & Anna: Our Story

They may not have 19 kids, but with 3 and counting, Josh and Anna Duggar have quite the story to tell. Watch as we take a retrospective look at their defining moments from courtship to marriage, with never-before-seen footage of Josh and Anna through the years.

Duggar vs. Bates

While visiting the Bates family in Tennessee, Jim Bob goes head-to-head with Lawson Bates, the fourth oldest of Gil and Kelly's 19 children, in a basketball challenge:

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Dunk A Duggar

To raise extra money at their flea market, the Duggars rent a dunk tank and call it Dunk A Duggar. See how it pans out in the following TLC webisode:

Jim Bob Duggar: "You Go First"

The tension has mounted between the Duggars and Terry McAuliffe, Democrat candidate for Virginia governor, but America's most well-known super-sized family is holding fast to its convictions.

At a news conference on NBC12 News Richmond, Jim Bob Duggar, whose family spent the first half of the week in Virginia campaigning for Republican candidate Ken Cuccinelli, urged McAuliffe to drop out of the race due to a scandal involving the exploitation of senior citizens and terminally ill patients . (Click here to watch the news segment.)

McAuliffe responded with a request that the Duggars "leave Virginia." Josh and Jim Bob each released counter statements:

Josh Duggar, Executive Director of FRC Action:
"We are incredulous that a candidate for public office in the United States of America would employ tactics to silence someone who disagrees with him. Asking someone to leave the state because they are supporting your opponent is unbelievably offensive. This latest tactic is an example of the way Terry McAuliffe handles people who disagree with him. The school yard bullying and rude statements he's making today won't sit well with Virginia voters.

He is trying to distract from the news of his investment in an elaborate scheme to rip-off senior citizens and terminally-ill patients, where he raked in thousands of dollars from bereaving families. This man has never been elected to any public office and he definitely isn't fit to serve."

 Jim Bob Duggar:
"It's unbelievable that Terry McAuliffe is requesting that my family 'leave Virginia' when we are exercising our freedom of speech. Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli has been an advocate for families and our values for many years. His immature request for those who are helping his opponent's campaign shows that he is desperate to distract from the scandal of how he defrauded the loved ones of terminally ill patients.

Terry McAuliffe is upset that we are from out of state. Well, so is he.  McAuliffe should simply let the voters decide rather than bullying my family out the state. We are asking that Terry McAuliffe drop out of the race immediately because he is unfit for any public office. Terry McAuliffe has responded by asking that we leave the state. We say, 'You go first.'"