Welcome to the Duggar family blog. Jim Bob and Michelle married in July 1984 and have twenty children. They have thirteen children-in-love. They have thirty-three grandchildren with three on the way due 2025.
Saturday, November 30, 2013
November is finished
The duggars are celebrating the end of this month with many changes. Two of the duggar children turn another year older. Thanksgiving happen with Josh and Anna in Florida. They went for the first Bates wedding.
Friday, November 29, 2013
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Monday, November 25, 2013
Josh and Anna update
Josh and Anna took their three children down to Florida to visit Anna's family. This will be Marcus first thanksgiving. This will be mackynzie fourth and Michael's second thanksgiving.
Friday, November 22, 2013
giving thanks
Michelle Duggar on Giving Thanks
FAMILY MATTERS on 11.22.13
Question from a "19 Kids and Counting" fan on Facebook: How do the Duggars celebrate Thanksgiving?
We always have family and even extended friends over for the holiday. Before we have our mealtime, we’ll take time to go around the room and give each person an opportunity to say what they're thankful for. The whole purpose of giving thanks on Thanksgiving is remembering back to the first Thanksgiving and those people who were grateful just for making it through that winter. We give thanks for just being in America.
We like to give everyone, even the little guys, an opportunity to share what they're thankful for. Of course, the younger ones are always giving thanks for their pets and sometimes their favorite toys, things like that. It’s really cute because they share from their hearts the things that bring them joy for that day and at that specific time. As they get older they start to realize all the deeper things.
It always seems to come back to relationships. We’re thankful for provisions -- food, clothing, and shelter -- but the most important thing is that we’re thankful for the relationships that God has given us.
Often as we are interacting with individuals we hear from people that didn’t have the kind of close relationships in their families that they hoped to have. And our children, as they grow, hear those stories and they see what they have and how important it is. I think it goes back to thanking God for those relationships.
When the children were young we would make grateful gobbler turkey drawings. The kids would each take a smiling turkey drawing and add the feathers. The feathers on his tail were five different colors and on each feather we had the child write what they were thankful for. So often those five little feathers had mommy, daddy, brothers, sisters, and then their favorite pet. The sweetest ones were made when they were small, with their letters drawn backwards -- they would do their best! I tried to do those with the younger kids each year so that they would have a reminder of what they were thankful for through the years.
Have a burning question for Michelle Duggar? Send it to her and it could appear in an upcoming post!
Monday, November 18, 2013
The Duggar Family's Favorite Fall Desserts
- The Duggar Family's Favorite Fall Desserts
FAMILY MATTERS on 11.18.13
Question from a "19 Kids and Counting" fan on Facebook: Do you have any favorite dessert recipes for the autumn?
Yes, we do! Our absolute favorite dessert for a bunch of us in this family is pumpkin pie. Jim Bob’s mother, Grandma Duggar, would make homemade pumpkin pies when he was young and Jim Bob absolutely loved those. Now, all of our children really enjoy those, too. Often instead of a cake for their birthday they’ll request pumpkin pie because they like it so much.
Grandma Duggar taught me how to make piecrust years ago when I met Jim Bob and now she has taught a lot of my girls, too. Grandma Duggar likes to pass on her specialty which is a really tasty, flaky pie crust.
One of my personal favorites has always been pecan pie. My mother would make us pecan pie at all of our family get-togethers during Thanksgiving and Christmas. Also, we’re native Arkansans and we have apple trees all around in this area, so apple pie is always another favorite in the Duggar home.
Usually when we are baking pies, it’s not uncommon for us to make fifteen pumpkin pies for a big event. For a big dinner with a lot of friends and family we might also have, three or four pecan pies and five or six apple pies depending how many guests there are going to be.
That’s the most wonderful smell -- those yummy pies being baked in the oven. It’s just like a magnet; everybody seems to gather in the kitchen when they smell the pie cooking. It’s a great tradition to celebrate the season. We have to make sure we limit those to certain times of the year or else we could be overindulging in all those great treats!
Have a burning question for Michelle Duggar? Send it to her and it could appear in an upcoming post
Friday, November 15, 2013
Friday, November 8, 2013
Michelle Duggar's Top Tips for Communicating with Your Kids
Michelle Duggar's Top Tips for Communicating with Your Kids
FAMILY MATTERS on 11.08.13
Photo: DCL
Question from a "19 Kids and Counting" fan on Facebook: Do you have any tips for how to encourage open communications and quality time with each of your kids?
I think what’s so interesting and amazing about parents is that I really believe God gives moms and dads the ability that no one else has to understand instinctively their children’s needs. As a mom, I always try to have one-on-one conversations about how they're doing. Some of them are much more talkative and will take more time, but others you have to really pull it out of them.
I think I can sense when there’s one that really needs more time and is maybe having a rough day. Maybe they're struggling in their math, and they just can’t get it, and they feel so discouraged or whatever it is. I just really try to take that time to connect with them. As parents, we can sense that.Getting permission from them to ask how they're doing and what’s going on in their lives and taking that time to connect with them on a heart-to-heart level is so important.
We all have to work at coming out of our shells and connecting with others. It’s coming out of who you are to be who God wants you to be. And sometimes that means you’ll get out of your comfort zone so others can feel comfortable.
By being able to do that with each one of them, it really lets them know that you're there for them no matter what. You love them unconditionally. Make sure to communicate with each one of them and that it's purposeful. I know as a parent there are so many things that pull at us, but the most important things are those relationships and the communications. When you sense in your spirit that one just needs a little extra encouragement, take that time and just open the door, just talk to them.
Have a burning question for Michelle Duggar? Send it to her and it could appear in an upcoming post!
Exciting Bates News
Congrats to Alyssa and John!
Monday, November 4, 2013
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Marcus turns five months old!
Marcus is five months old today. I can't believe how big he has gotten.
Friday, November 1, 2013
Michelle Duggar on Creating Keepsake Boxes
Michelle Duggar on Creating Keepsake Boxes
FAMILY MATTERS on 11.01.13
Question from a "19 Kids and Counting" fan on Facebook: Do you save keepsakes and memorabilia for each of your kids?
Yes, I create keepsake boxes for each child as a way of saving their favorite items from childhood. They're just simple little cardboard boxes that you buy at the store. I date each one, and I write each child’s name on it. As they fill up, I put the closing date on the outside, close it up and put it in storage. And then I start a new box. Mostly, they’ll contain paper projects or little treasures that aren’t too big to fit in there.
Before I close up a full box, I’ll have them come and go through their things and make sure that everything in there is something they really want to keep. Sometimes they’ll actually get rid of some stuff. A few of mine are more packrats than others. They get to decide a lot of the things that go in, but usually it’s the paper items that are saved – their little pictures they’ve drawn and some homework – and also treasured items from sightseeing and family trips that we’ve been on.
I know it can be hard to part with them, but I tell my kids when you move out your boxes will go with you. When Josh married Anna, of course all of his keepsake boxes came out of storage and went with them. They said they had so much fun going through the memories of his life up until the time he got married. I think they had 15-20 boxes that they took with them. It’s quite a collection by the time they grow up!
Have a burning question for Michelle Duggar? Send it to her and it could appear in an upcoming post!
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