Jessa Duggar knows, you guys.
She reads the Internet.
She comes through various celebrity gossip posts and websites.
How can we be so certain?
Because a lot has been written about Jessa's marriage to Ben Seewald of late; plenty of negative stories are out there these days, questioning the state of this marriage.
Without addressing them head-on, Duggar seems to allude to these reports in the birthday message she shared to Instagram on Wednesday.
"Happy birthday to my favorite person in the whole wide world! @ben_seewald! Wow, a quarter of a century old!" wrote Jessa, adding:
"There are so many things I love about you, and here are a few."
Indeed, Jessa then spent a LOOOOONG time listing these things, pretty clearly sticking it to critics of her relationship in the process. To wit:
You have a beautiful soul. You’re thoughtful and romantic.
We’re in a busy season with babies, so I’m not going to pretend that it’s all roses and chocolates.
Mostly it’s the hundred “little” things, like those very married kisses on your way out the door to work, and how the moment you return home, you’re changing poopy diapers, loading the dishwasher, and at least once a week asking me if we want to get the kids to bed early so we can pop popcorn and watch our favorite video podcasts together.
These seem like pretty normal things for a father to do -- but there's been chatter online that Seewald sucks as a parent.
Hence, we're guessing, why Jessa wrote such words about her husband.
She wasn't done, either.
Not by a long shot...
I love your love for learning. You see education as a way of life, not something that stopped once you wrapped up your 4-year degree.
You’re an enthusiastic about gaining knowledge, always reading and researching a broad array of subjects and sharing what you’re learning with me. I love this! You’ve gotten me hooked on Audible!
I’ll admit, I do copy a lot of titles from your booklist, and I like absorbing the same things so we can discuss and give feedback to one another.
It’s almost like we have our own little book club!
Amid talk that Seewald actually regrets marrying Jessa, his wife continued as follows:
You’ve given me an appreciation for diverse kinds of foods, always choosing new restaurants and unique menu items on date nights.
You’re a fantastic cook, and you like choosing new dishes with unique ingredients.
I can’t say you’ve ever made anything that I didn’t love. I usually roll with the produce gathered by whoever pulled my grocery pickup order, but you love strolling the racks and handpicking the freshest ingredients to use in your recipe.
This care and attention to detail spans across into so many other areas of life as well!
Seewald, of course, has been criticized for not really having a job and for endlessly being in school.
When he proposed to Jessa, Ben was in the middle of an associate’s degree in political science, completing this program in 2015.
The following year it was revealed that Ben was working toward a second degree -- but he seemingly abandoned his political science major in favor of a ministry program.
It's unclear just where his educational journey stands at the moment, but you can see Jessa trying to paint it in a positive light here.
Concludes Duggar in her birthday message:
You think of fun ways to make memories together as a family. Getting takeout for dinner and eating it at a scenic location.
Going for walks together and taking in the beauty of God’s creation.
Donut dates with the boys, and then wrestling matches to work off all the sugar! Regular hugs, kisses and cuddles for all the kiddos. It’s no wonder “Da-day” is Ivy’s favorite word! You’re our world!
We love you more than words can express.
