Grandparent time at the Maxwells

[Dru]

I think it's been mentioned in the past that the parents have a date night when the kids are at their grandparents' house.

I love Abby's haircut, it really suits her. It's not surprising to me that she got a shorter cut because Melanie keeps her hair fairly short by fundie standards.

I love the ABCs outfits! Super cute. Also leggings so the girls can get play without worrying about "being modest".

And as much as I hate to defend the cult leaders, I think having a planned activity is a good idea when there is a group of children.

[salex]

I think it's been mentioned in the past that the parents have a date night when the kids are at their grandparents' house.

I assumed it was a monthly date night scheduled by the fertility calendar....

[Odd1Out]

So it's 'Grandpa and Grandma' night with the grandkids' but Sarah writes all about 'we' & 'us'. Why can't the grandparents watch the grandkids and Sarah & The reversals go out to eat together? Dumb question, I know.

[Hane]

"Transforming encouragement" into WHAT, exactly?

[salex]

"Transforming encouragement" into WHAT, exactly?

Based on their lives "transforming encouragement" into forced obedience and loss of hope...but that isn't good market speak!

[Jana814]

I assumed it was a monthly date night scheduled by the fertility calendar....

Love this!!!

[socalrules]

So in the normal world, we would call this grandparents babysitting the grandkids and having fun doing it. I have seen many photos where it is obvious that Steve is enjoying spending time with and playing with the grandkids. He seems almost normal. It leads me to wonder if he ever spent that kind of time with his own kids and actually enjoyed it. I wonder if he feels less pressure with the grandkids because if they go off the path, it is their parents' fault, not his.

The little kids do always look like their smiles are real and not forced like their aunts and uncles. Hopefully they won't lose that too soon.

[PrairieGirl]

"Transforming encouragement" into WHAT, exactly?

DEATH!

[Black Aliss]

Based on their lives "transforming encouragement" into forced obedience and loss of hope...but that isn't good market speak!

Needs more proactive synergy if they want to their product to be best of breed.

[Handmaiden of Dog]

Thanks for all the laughs...corporate America Speak, indeed. And I'm rolling at the idea of Sarah using this gobblydegook to promote a book about conversations! Yeah. Turn your shy little Christian son into a powerhouse speaker the Maxwell way! Woot!

When we get these glimpses of their insulated ways of thinking it makes me laugh...and then it makes me shudder.

[ILoveJellybeans]

So it's 'Grandpa and Grandma' night with the grandkids' but Sarah writes all about 'we' & 'us'. Why can't the grandparents watch the grandkids and Sarah & The reversals go out to eat together? Dumb question, I know.

Because the world is scary. What if they overhear other people in a restaurant talking about inappropriate things! What if the restaurant sells wine and they are tempted to try some? What if they try new food that doesn't taste of sadness and start wanting better food. They might realise that burritos are delicious with actual flavour! What if they hear music with a beat and become tempted to dance? Or what if they overhear a conversation on the street and accidentally learn the F word! Steve would be horrified. They might either be so traumatized by being on their own that at the bottom of their street they will already start crying and wanting Daddy to come and rescue them...or have such an awesome time because the new sights and sounds give them so much joy that they could never go back to their miserable life.

[salex]

Because the world is scary. What if they overhear other people in a restaurant talking about inappropriate things! What if the restaurant sells wine and they are tempted to try some? What if they try new food that doesn't taste of sadness and start wanting better food. They might realise that burritos are delicious with actual flavour! What if they hear music with a beat and become tempted to dance? Or what if they overhear a conversation on the street and accidentally learn the F word! Steve would be horrified. They might either be so traumatized by being on their own that at the bottom of their street they will already start crying and wanting Daddy to come and rescue them...or have such an awesome time because the new sights and sounds give them so much joy that they could never go back to their miserable life.

Made me think of this.

[bBvideo 560,340:2jfgjkuk]

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[usmcmom]

Ugh, Christina now in the uber bib like Christopher's kids.

They also took the word instituting out of the first sentence.

Man, they really follow us don't they?

Bethany, btw, is 4.

We've never seen Christina in the baby Haz Mat suit when she's with her parents, have we? I don't recall seeing it anyway. It makes me think those are Steve's idea. Maybe Nathan stands up to his dad and says it's not necessary and Christ either has the same neurotic need for neatness as Steve or is afraid to disagree with him even on something as minor as a bib.

Regarding their cousins not being present; I wonder if this has to do with Steve's belief that children's only friends should be their siblings. If Nathan's kids start making memories with Christopher's kids, they are likely to....gasp...become friends as well as cousins and we can't have that.

It makes me very sad. I grew up two houses down from my cousins and we all did everything together. When one mother took her kids somewhere, it was just assumed the cousins would be invited. We had a standing playmate EVERY DAY at each others' homes. Summers were the BEST TIME EVER with my cousins when we were growing up. I still consider one of my cousins to be one of my dearest friends. In fact, we are meeting her and her husband tonight for our monthly double date.

What a shame the Maxwell grandkids won't have those friendships and memories.

[albanuadh_1]

Summers were the BEST TIME EVER with my cousins when we were growing up

Oh, that so reminds me of my childhood!

[NeckPunch]

And of course the baby BOY is sitting at the seat of honour next to Steve-o

[nausicaa]

Or what if they overhear a conversation on the street and accidentally learn the F word!

This got me thinking. I wonder if the Maxwell adults even know curse words? Like if someone drops the F bomb do they think that person just made up a sound? I know plenty of people who don't swear for religious reasons, but those people certainly know what curse words are and what they mean. The Maxwell kids, however, had the lyrics to "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" censored.

Now I'm seriously wondering if when a Maxwell kid is out in the larger world on a shopping trip or converting people at the fair, if they're just in a sea of misperception, much like Uncle Matt on Fraggle Rock.

[halcionne]

This got me thinking. I wonder if the Maxwell adults even know curse words? Like if someone drops the F bomb do they think that person just made up a sound? I know plenty of people who don't swear for religious reasons, but those people certainly know what curse words are and what they mean. The Maxwell kids, however, had the lyrics to "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" censored.

Now I'm seriously wondering if when a Maxwell kid is out in the larger world on a shopping trip or converting people at the fair, if they're just in a sea of misperception, much like Uncle Matt on Fraggle Rock.

This made me laugh so much! When I stopped laughing, I read it again and laughed some more.

Those poor Maxwell kidults could get their mouths washed out with soap and not even know why!

[16strong]

This made me laugh so much! When I stopped laughing, I read it again and laughed some more.

Those poor Maxwell kidults could get their mouths washed out with soap and not even know why!

Alas, they'll never know the joys of being reminded not to forget to drink their Ovaltine.

/sonofabitch

[Toothfairy]

I am surprised that they only do this once a month. None of these people have real jobs and they live on the same street. Why not once a week? You'd think the grandparents would love to see the grandkids as often as possible and vice versa.

Steve sees his grand kids as an extension of his religious cult. Gotta keep it in the family.

[alba]

Melanie has done an excellent job teaching Abby and Bethany to read, and they are able to read their own verses even though Abby is only finishing first grade and Bethany is still technically a preschooler.

Is this meant to be impressive? I don't spend a lot of time around kids, and I've always been a big reader, but I was reading full chapter books by Abby's age. It sounds to me like Anna's making out that Melanie's homeschooling is oh-so-much better than public school, but I'm not seeing it.

[Arrowoftruth]

Definitely read too much of this thread last night. Dreamt that i wanted to divorce Steve and in order to leave I had to give him 4 of my 6 kids (i dont have any in real life) and so I really feared for my oldest sons life so I gave him an ipod to help him rebel and find me

[Jana814]

Definitely read too much of this thread last night. Dreamt that i wanted to divorce Steve and in order to leave I had to give him 4 of my 6 kids (i dont have any in real life) and so I really feared for my oldest sons life so I gave him an ipod to help him rebel and find me

That's nuts!!

[ILoveJellybeans]

This made me laugh so much! When I stopped laughing, I read it again and laughed some more.

Those poor Maxwell kidults could get their mouths washed out with soap and not even know why!

Wouldn't it be hilarious if Sarah overheard someone swear when out at the store. Steve didn't hear it so couldn't warn them that it was a bad thing to say. Sarah just thinks its a new word she hasn't heard before, and she really wants to improve her vocabulary...so during Bible time she comes out with "I fucking love Jesus, Daddy!". I think Steve would have a heart attack. Or if she inserts it into one of her Moody books and accidentally teaches a whole bunch of fundie kids some new words! :lol:

The little Bean learned her first curse word yesterday! She overheard the word bitch, and then pointed and said "Is that a bitch, Mommy?" :lol:

[danvillebelle]

Wouldn't it be hilarious if Sarah overheard someone swear when out at the store. Steve didn't hear it so couldn't warn them that it was a bad thing to say. Sarah just thinks its a new word she hasn't heard before, and she really wants to improve her vocabulary...so during Bible time she comes out with "I fucking love Jesus, Daddy!". I think Steve would have a heart attack. Or if she inserts it into one of her Moody books and accidentally teaches a whole bunch of fundie kids some new words! :lol:

The little Bean learned her first curse word yesterday! She overheard the word bitch, and then pointed and said "Is that a bitch, Mommy?" :lol:

I have to share a funny kid story here...

When my oldest child (boy) was about 11-12, he was playing a game of Bananagrams with my parents. It was going fast and furious and no one was really paying attention to the words others were putting down until the game was through. Said child had recently read "The Right Stuff" and come across the word "fuck" for the first time in print. Said child was also very sheltered (our kids were all homeschooled from the get-go and I was still wading in the conservative kool-aid at this point) and though he might have heard it on the street or in passing, he didn't realize the gravity of the word or that there was anything bad about it.

I was sitting across the room (very large combo living/dining/great room) half-listening. All of a sudden I hear my father start to laugh uproariously and say "J, you can't use that word." "Why?" "Because it's a curse word." I go over and see "fuck" neatly laid out on the table and I start to laugh so hard I can hardly breathe. Then J, still not realizing how it will sound, is worried about his score in the game and says loudly "I'M NOT GIVING UP MY FUCK!" and we all just howl until we are falling out of our chairs. He loves to tell that story now. :lol:

[sparkles]

My mother (who's 82) told us how one time when she was a girl, she was changing with her swim class at the local pool and one of her friends told her that fucking was a slang word changing into your swimsuits. What can I say, mom was a little naive… Good old mom apparently yelled at the top of her lungs, "Look at us, we're fucking!" and hell rained down. The pool supervisor called my grandmother in and they read mom the riot act, with my grandmother telling mom that if she ever said that word again it would be the death of grandma. So from that time on, mom never, ever uttered the word. The worst she'd say was "Eff." (We fondly remember the day when all three of us kids were in the back seat of the car when someone cut her off, so mom flipped the bird and yelled out "EFF YOU, YOU CS!" For cocksucker, of course, but I'm sure the guy she yelled at was totally confused. The one time she let slip with the actual word, she immediately called my grandmother to make sure she was still breathing. We used to tease her mercilessly since we're pretty loose about cursing in my family (my daughter grew up with it and never once uttered a curse word inappropriately because we talked about when it was okay and when it wasn't.) Anyway, about a month after my grandmother died, mom let loose with a string of F curses when when cut herself and when we all looked at her in shock-horror and she yelled, "She's dead! I've got years of pent-up fucks I need to get out!" :shock: We just about fell over laughing.