Married nearly 35 years ago on July 21, 1984, the Duggar family matriarch, 53, and patriarch, 55, waited four years to have their first child, Josh. After conceiving again and suffering a miscarriage, which they say occurred because she was taking birth control and didn't know she was pregnant, they decided to let God "bless them with as many children as he saw fit." With new babies arriving roughly every year and a half, they've worked hard to keep their union on track. "We have a weekly date, even if it is just to take a walk in the park," Jim Bob, a former Arkansas politician, told PEOPLE in 2009. "We will go out to lunch or dinner and talk together about the kids, upcoming events, what we have coming up."

Recently, the couple found a new passion: flipping houses in Arkansas.