19 Kids and Counting Season 8 Episode 1 Recap: The Duggar Family is Back!

The Duggar Family is back on 19 Kids and Counting Season 8 Episode 1, and as you probably know, there's a lot going on with the famous family of late.

TLC sure hit the ground running with a jam-packed season premiere, too, and you can watch 19 Kids and Counting online in full by following the link.

Now, on to our official recap from Duggarland!

5 Duggar Family Dating Rules

1. It's Called COURTING!

Dating means you're shopping around, says Jim Bob Duggar, while courtship is the path toward marriage. Courting is getting to know each other in a group setting, both families spending time together and the couple setting goals together to determine if they are meant to marry or not.

Not only to we see Jill Duggar and Derick Dillard in the period leading up to their wedding, but we get our first look at how her parents acted during the process.

With three months to go until the big day, Jill and Derick work with an event planner. With 1,000 people coming and almost that many details, they need it!

Fortunately, Jill has an eager assistant in her younger sister, Jessa Duggar, who is getting more and more serious in her own courtship with Ben Seewald.

They don't see each other too much because he lives a way's away, but Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar have a surprise for them, and for Jill and Derick.

The patriarch actually purchased a “fixer upper” home in Arkansas a few years ago that is now finally ready to be lived in by some soon-to-be newlyweds!

Soon they'll be married and chaperone-free. They'll need someplace to live, and while it may not be a "forever" home, it will do the trick for now.

The Duggars later invite Ben Seewald and Derick Dillard’s families over for a very special Mother’s Day gathering, to make sure they all feel comfortable.

Jill Duggar & Derick Dillard Photos: True Love Timeline

1. Their First Meeting (Sort Of)!

The Arkansas natives grew up within 45 minutes of each other, but didn't meet until late 2011. Jill recalled when Derick stopped by while caroling with a church group, and not long after, "Derick contacted my dad and asked if he would be a prayer partner during his two-year term in Nepal."

Ben is still just courting Jessa, they have been doing so for longer than Jill and Derick were together, so it's evident that this is getting pretty serious.

Derick's mom Cathy, who is battling cancer, did not attend, leaning Ben to worry that she wouldn't be there for Jill's wedding in just a few weeks' time.

Fortunately, she was there to see Derick Dillard marry Jill Duggar in a magical ceremony, and soon enough, Jessa Duggar and Ben Seewald get engaged!

We'll see those events play out in all their glory in the coming episodes, we're sure, but for now, Jim Bob has a surprise proposal of his own for Ben:

Come live on the property with us on the Duggar compound!

The family has a guest house out front that's perfect for one person, and he has lots of projects around the grounds that he could use a hand with.

Of course, this means more temptation to break the Duggar family dating rules, but with all those chaperones running around, they should be okay.

In fact, they're pretty stoked because chaperones get paid.

SO Many Duggars

1. A Duggar Family Pic

Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are still working on that 20th kid.