The Proposal
What are the Duggars up to these days? Wedding planning! They just announced this morning that 22-year-old Jill is engaged to Derick Dillard. (Click here for details.)
The couple shared the details of the proposal with ABC News.
Derick, 25, sought Jim Bob's blessing two months ago and arranged to have a song written about his relationship with Jill.
"We went on [a] lunch date to a Mexican restaurant and then we walked around in a park setting, and the guy who wrote the song was just sitting on a park bench, nothing out of the ordinary," Derick told ABC News. "He was like, 'Oh, hey, you look like a nice couple. I think I have a song for you guys.'"
In case you were wondering, the couple had two chaperones following at a distance.
"When my dad first introduced Derick and I, we spent hours texting, calling, and talking on Skype while 8,000 miles away from each other," Jill told ABC News. "And when we finally met in person in Nepal, we knew within days that we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together."
There was a line about that in the song, so Jill knew right away that Derick had something up his sleeve.
"He said, 'When God made you, he was thinking of me,' and then at the very end [of the song], he said something about, 'And I pray that you think that too, when God made you he was thinking of me,' and I was like, 'That sounds like a question!'" said Jill. "After that, Derick started saying a bunch of mushy stuff like, 'I love you so much,' and I don't remember everything!"
Derick got down on one knee and presented a ring he purchased in Israel.
Derick described the ring and the story behind it: "It's just a white gold band with a solitaire diamond: a round stone, .63 carats. Jill really likes Israel, and I'd always wanted to go to the Holy Land. ... [When I was there] I had it in my head that I wanted to get an engagement ring pretty soon, but I had no idea it would work out [this] perfectly!"
I love Derick's desire to follow God and to serve others," said Jill. "Derick is so romantic, and the proposal was perfect. We are incredibly happy and can't wait to share our courtship and engagement on 19 Kids and Counting. Next up, wedding planning!"
The wedding has been planned for this summer, and according to the couple, it's going to be big. They are looking forward to sharing their special moment with family and friends. Jill is currently working on invitations.
The ProposalThe Proposal