Michelle’s Blog

For our honeymoon, Jim Bob and I planned a trip near our home because that’s what we could afford. We were going to go to Mount Nebo and Lake Fort Smith, both in Arkansas. We chose state parks for our destinations because the cabins there were so reasonable.

We sure do! Sometimes we’ll go for a drive and just park and talk or take a walk and talk. It’s so nice when it’s quiet and there are no interruptions. We really enjoy that because we’re not around a lot of people then, and we can catch up with each other. Other times, we’ll go out for a coffee or ice cream, which is my favorite weekly sweet treat, or occasionally a nice meal.

Wow, I had so many wonderful gifts from that special day. There are quite a few that come to mind, but there’s one in particular that my family and I really appreciated and use to this day.

My wedding to Jim Bob almost 30 years ago was sweet and simple. We got married in our church where our pastor officiated our ceremony. At the time, our church was still being built so we were meeting in a big gymnasium for services. We actually got married in the hallway of the building -- we had set up folding chairs to use as pews! And we did the exact same thing when we renewed our vows 25 years later.

What advice will you give your daughters as they become mothers for the first time?

Now that it’s actually happening, there are all of these wonderful mixed emotions. You get the joy of watching a loving relationship unfold. Jill and Derick, and Jessa and Ben, are becoming best friends and really getting to know each other in such a sweet way. When the right one comes along, it’s so exciting, shocking and surprising all at the same time!