Late last year, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar from the former TLC show "19 Kids and Counting" opened their home to an adopted boy, Tyler Wayne Hutchins, who is Michelle's nine-year-old great-nephew.
Since then, they have kept pretty quiet about their guardianship of the young boy. But this February, the family posted a group photo and issued a welcoming statement as Tyler celebrated his birthday.
"Happy 9th Birthday Tyler! We are so glad to have you in our home and a part of our family! Your bright smile and sweet spirit brings much joy to us all!" the Duggar couple wrote on their Facebook page.
They said their son Jackson loves having a "little brother/cousin" because they get to ride bikes and play around, not to mention read their Bibles together. As such having Tyler around the household has been nothing but a blessing, the couple said.
"Our prayer is that each day you will seek God's will for your life, and that God will use your life in a great way," they wrote. "We pray over you that one of your first memory verses from the Bible will be lived out through your life! Isaiah 43:21: 'This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.'"
The Christian couple have been granted guardianship of Tyler on Nov. 21, according to ET. The court made the decision after it learned from the Duggar attorney that the boy's 23-year-old mother, Rachel Hutchins, Michelle's niece, "exhibited a pattern of behaviour demonstrating that she is presently unable to meet Tyler's health, safety, and other needs." This is because Hutchins is unemployed, has no means of transport, and presently under probation, the court was told.
Hutchins agreed to sign off on the Duggars' guardianship, provided that they allow her supervised visits with her son.
With this development, it seems Jim Bob and Michelle have beaten their daughter Jessa and her husband Ben Seewald with their adoption plans. Before Jessa gave birth to her son Spurgeon Elliot, she and Ben were already planning to adopt several kids into their family. Ben and Jessa recently welcomed their second son, who they named Henry Wilberforce Seewald.
