"Duggars and Mothers" Recap

On tonight's season premiere episode of 19 Kids and Counting, "Duggars and Mothers"...

• The show kicks off with a recap of Jill and Derick's relationship. According to Michelle, Jill is ready to be a wife, but the family has a lot of planning to do before Jill and Derick can say "I do."
• Jill and Derick, along with Jill's mom and sisters, meet with their three wedding coordinators, who also happen to be friends of the family. Jill is the first Duggar daughter to tie the knot, and the Duggar women quickly realize that there is a lot more that goes into planning a wedding than they originally thought.
• "Okay, I don't know what I'm doing," Jill admits to viewers after the meeting.
• "I would imagine that this wedding is going to be a huge affair, and I have no idea how we're going to pull this off," says Michelle.
• In the midst of wedding planning, Jill and Derick receive devastating news: Derick's mom, Cathy Dillard Byrum, has been diagnosed with cancer and must undergo chemotherapy treatments. The engaged couple grabs Jessa as their chaperone and visits Cathy in the hospital. 
• "It's been good for our relationship to kind of see how we deal with difficult situations," admits Derick, who says he is thankful to have Jill by his side during this trial.
• The Duggars invite the Seewalds and the Dillards over to their house to celebrate Mother's Day. It will be the first time that Ben and Derick's families meet. Derick has one brother, Dan, who is two years younger than him, while Ben is the oldest of seven.
• Jessa, who admits that her cooking skills are limited, helps Jill prepare the meal. "I try to imitate Jill," says Jessa. "I'm not as good as she is. She makes food taste amazing, so I'm trying to copy her style. I haven't quite got it yet."
• "Cooking is fun and exciting," Jessa continues. "I usually always burn something." This time, she just barely burns the rolls but is able to save them with lots of melted butter.
• During lunch, Jim Bob and Michelle ask Ben if he would like to move into their guesthouse and do odd jobs around their property while finishing school. Ben is pleasantly surprised and resolves to pray about it.
• "I don't know that it's normal, but I think some guys move to areas wherever their girlfriend is..." says Jana.
• Meanwhile, Derick and Jill join Dan and his girlfriend, Chelsea, for a video chat with Cathy, who is still recovering. (Update: Cathy is now cancer-free!)
• Jim Bob and Michelle surprise Jill and Derick by "loaning" them the Stonybrook house, the residence that the family fixed up back in 2012. (See "Puppies, Properties & Patients" and "Kittens and Konstruction.")
• Jim Bob and several of the kids head over to the house to give it a deep clean. Although the Stonybrook house is a three-story mansion and has much more room than the newlyweds will need, they say they feel blessed to have this opportunity to live in the house until Jim Bob and Michelle decide to sell it.
• Some might see this situation as unfair to Josh and Anna, who lived in a tiny bungalow for almost five years, but the Duggars don't. As Joy-Anna points out, Jim Bob did not own the Stonybrook house when Josh and Anna were looking for a place to live. "I guess it's their own fault they didn't wait," jokes Joy.
• While cleaning the windows at the Stonybrook house, James gets a huge splinter stuck in one of his fingers, but Jim Bob and Jessa are able to pull it out without inflicting too much pain on the young Duggar.
• Before the show comes to a close, Jessa and her sisters clean up the guesthouse and make signs to welcome Ben, who has accepted Jim Bob and Michelle's offer, to his new home. He is impressed by Jessa's decorating job. "Wow," says Ben. "This is awesome. It's almost like a hunting lodge or something."
• "Jessa is delighted about this relationship," says Michelle. "It means that Ben is closer, almost next door."
• "In our courtship, the next step would involve a rock and a piece of metal," Ben tells Jessa.
• "Ooh, I like this" Jessa responds.

"Duggars and Mothers" Recap"Duggars and Mothers" Recap