'Counting On' Fans Notice Family Members Missing From Christmas Day Photos

As the Duggar family celebrated Christmas Day at Jim Bob and Michelle's Arkansas home, some [...]

By Anna Rumer

As the Duggar family celebrated Christmas Day at Jim Bob and Michelle's Arkansas home, some Counting On fans were quick to notice not all of the TLC family was spending the holiday together. While most of the older siblings, their spouses and their children appeared in photos shared to the Duggar family Instagram, commenters were quick to notice that Jinger (Duggar) Vuolo and her husband Jeremy Vuolo, Josh and Anna Duggar and Jill (Duggar) Dillard and Derick Dillard were missing from the holiday merriment.

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On Christmas Eve, 36 years ago, I got down on one knee and asked Michelle Ruark if she would marry me! She said yes! We had no idea on that Christmas that our family would grow to be what it is today! . Michelle has been the greatest blessing of my life, my best friend, the mother of our children, and a wonderful grandmother to our 16 grandkids (and counting)! . Christmas is a perfect time to celebrate the love of family, exchange gifts, and create special memories that will last a lifetime. But most of all, we celebrate JESUS—God's perfect, indescribable gift. The one and only Son of God came to earth as a baby for the purpose of giving His life for us. Of all the gifts we could ever receive, this is the very best! . Merry Christmas! —Jim Bob

A post shared by The Duggar Family (@duggarfam) on

Jinger and Jeremy's absence was easily explained by their location — the couple moved to Los Angeles earlier this year as the youth pastor pursues his faith education — and the family seemed to be happy celebrating alongside 1-year-old daughter Felicity at their home based on their smiley Instagram.

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Merry Christmas from our family to yours! 🤗🎄🎁

A post shared by Jinger Vuolo (@jingervuolo) on

As for Josh and Anna, commenters were quick to point out that the pair brought their six children down to Florida to celebrate with Anna's side of the family.

Jill and Derick's absence is a little more complicated. On Instagram, Derick revealed the family celebrated alongside friends this year, alleging tension in the home between his family and Jim Bob.

"We're not allowed in the house when [Jim Bob] isn't there," Dillard wrote to fans. "Jill even has to ask [Jim Bob's] permission to go over to the house to help her sister when she was in labor because her sister wanted help, but Jill couldn't provide assistance until we got it cleared from JB."

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🎶 “Have yourself a merry little Christmas...” from the Dillards 🎄

A post shared by Derick Dillard (@derickdillard) on

Much of this tension appears to stem from the contractual agreement the Duggar family has, through Jim Bob, to film Counting On, which Derick has criticized as unfairly cutting the children off from a paycheck in the past.

"We were made to believe we didn't have a choice and that we'd be sued if we refused," he added in the comment section when asked why he initially filmed the reality series despite his own concerns. "However, once we became more enlightened, we realized that we could easily defend ourselves in against a lawsuit from the family/TLC."

Photo credit: TLC

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