Elissa and Joe, 1st anniversary

[SolomonFundy]

Add me to the list of people that find John "Hot Stuff Coming Through" Maxwell not so terribly attractive...

Everyone has their own taste in attraction, and it's a good thing. That said, I've never really been able to understand why anyone thinks that any of the Maxwell family are unusually attractive, let alone hot. They certainly aren't bad looking, but they aren't show ponies either. Mary is frequently described as being "beautiful" here, and I simply can't see it. She's healthy and has nice hair. Beyond that? Meh. John is tall and seems less crazy-eyed than Jesse, but he's still just kind of... basic?

[IReallyAmHopewell]

Drew [Of Abby, Bethany, Christ[tina] and [an]Drew] has a "winning" smile. And "Drew is always on the go. Seriously."

So is he always serious about being on the go? Ga the writing!

And the FUN. Seriously. The fun!!! What a blessing!! And the children are....wait for it...PRECIOUS!! And everyone is HELPFUL.

Oh boy!! Pass the accurately measured single serving of burrito filling please...................

[mango_fandango]

Drew [Of Abby, Bethany, Christ[tina] and [an]Drew] has a "winning" smile. And "Drew is always on the go. Seriously."

So is he always serious about being on the go? Ga the writing!

And the FUN. Seriously. The fun!!! What a blessing!! And the children are....wait for it...PRECIOUS!! And everyone is HELPFUL.

Oh boy!! Pass the accurately measured single serving of burrito filling please...................

I think she means seriously in same way as you used it. But it would have seemed less harsh if she'd gone "Drew is always on the go, seriously!" Instead, it's like Drew is the first toddler to always be on the go and Sarah is trying hard to convince readers that yes, Drew is actually on the go all the time instead of their toddlers who all sit around quietly and look at their My First Bible[tm][/tm]. Or, like she can't quite believe it and isn't used to kids being "on the go". She flipping well should be, unless all her younger siblings and nieces and nephews were of the quiet type I mentioned earlier. And I've never noticed her call Bethany "Betsy" before. They've always called Abigail "Abby" and Christina "Tina" and Andrew "Drew", which makes it clear that they're trying to maintain the alphabet thing.

To be fair, smiles are often described as "winning", as in winning people over and inviting them to make friends with the smiler. (Hope that made sense).

Please please please can we ban fundies from using "sweet" and "precious"? Like when Jill rang Anna to tell her about the gender of Izzy Dilly and Anna just went "aww, precious!" which seems a little odd to me. Most people would go "oh, what a great name!" but it's like the SOTDRT only teaches a select number of adjectives.

[Jane_Goth]

Agree, agree, agree with the bolded (actually with everything you wrote).

NR-Anna actually has some calligraphy skills, but why oh why did she choose that quote, and why do the sign on an unattractive piece of cardboard?

If I was given a hanging like that with 'doctrine', 'condemned' and 'ashamed' as the stand out words, I would assume it was because the person giving me the present, hated me and wished me dead.

[Seven Severn]

Mary is frequently described as being "beautiful" here, and I simply can't see it. She's healthy and has nice hair. Beyond that? Meh.

It could be just me, but I think Mary just doesn't look like herself. To my eye she's changed significantly since the winter, but I can't put my finger on what, exactly, has changed. It could be something as boring as normal aging, but she just seems to be less groomed or something. Was she wearing a little makeup and Steve made her quit?

[Handmaiden of Dog]

We have been blessed the past few years to have had available something that Managers of Their Homes scheduling moms had been requesting—software to use to design their schedules. Recently, Joseph, our programmer, has invested time enhancing ScheduleBreeze to make it even more user friendly and powerful. The Beta testing of it has gone well, and it is now fully released.

There ya go-- all that talk about schedules in the past few weeks was to create excitement for their newest product. Not even a new product, an enhanced product for which they want $15.00 a year.

Their Labor Day Post just made me so sad for Sarah. She is doing her best to drum up excitement for what was a simple family gathering, most of whom they interact with on a daily basis.

Ruthie and I. Notice all the activity in the background.

"Activity." A toddler crawling and a few moms talking. Jesus these people and their sad, sad little contained lives. They are like human beings in a bottle on someone's mantelpiece; they don't even realize how tiny, how squashed their realm is.

[SusanAtTheLastBattle]

We have been blessed the past few years to have had available something that Managers of Their Homes scheduling moms had been requesting—software to use to design their schedules.

That sentence huuuuuurts. It comes courtesy of Teri, so I guess we know where Sarah gets her way with words. :?

[VodouDoll]

Oh, Sarah, Sarah. :(

So, does that mean just the nuclear family had breakfast, or that they had breakfast right after workout and Bible time?

?

And, I'm so glad nobody ever labored to give me a hand-made sign that featured the words "doctrine." "condemned" and "ashamed" in extra-big letters.

Those Maxwells -- they're so . . . Maxwellian.

HAHAHAHA! Oh god I'm laughing so hard you guys. Ashamed and doctrine and condemned. It's so Maxwell I would have thought you were joking except the Maxwells mean never having to say you're kidding. I bet Teri loved it.

Mary does look different. She's stopped wearing makeup and plucking her eyebrows. Which is fine, if that's what she wants to do! But she spent so many years doing her sisters' hair and being the driving force behind getting rid of frumpers and making everyone over that it's kind of jarring for her to have suddenly stopped. She seemed to get such joy from prettifying them, and herself.

[Elegant Mess]

I finally got around to looking at their photos from Labor Day. Is it just me, or does Sarah look like she's sporting an evil grin in the picture in which she's holding Ruthie? To me, her eyes don't match her smile.

[Rosie]

The Maxwell house has the worst decor ever. Just terrible.

[VodouDoll]

That sentence huuuuuurts. It comes courtesy of Teri, so I guess we know where Sarah gets her way with words. :?

You're right. It's total word salad. Your customers should not have to think this hard to decipher your ads, Teri.

[julie paradox]

Oh Sarah. It should be "Ruthi and me". Unless that full stop was an aberration and actually you meant that you and the child noticed the activity.

I have to say this far too often: "me" is not a four-letter word.

[NotALoserLikeYou]

I asked if they did anything special. Comment denied!

[PrairieGirl]

I asked if they did anything special. Comment denied!

Wow, I think Steve's paranoia has been really ramped up lately. What a sad, lonely way to live.

Hi Stevie, we know you are here. Mwahahahahaha! :nenner:

[mango_fandango]

Also, maybe he had more, but that looks like a fairly miserly meal Drew had. It looks like a couple of meat chunks and a few beans. Is that what passes for dinner? I know he's only little, but surely he should have a little more? Especially cos he's a growing toddler. His meal looks like leftovers.

[IReallyAmHopewell]

It could be just me, but I think Mary just doesn't look like herself. To my eye she's changed significantly since the winter, but I can't put my finger on what, exactly, has changed. It could be something as boring as normal aging, but she just seems to be less groomed or something. Was she wearing a little makeup and Steve made her quit?

Being without intellectual stimulation--even that given by Rod & Staff or ABEKA textbooks--will do that to anyone. Finding out her life has no purpose but to make burrito filling, clean the clean garage and chase after her brothers' children would do that too. Or, she's had her first courtship possibility introduced and he was a friend of Steve's? (As in Steve's age.....)

[princessmahina]

It could be just me, but I think Mary just doesn't look like herself. To my eye she's changed significantly since the winter, but I can't put my finger on what, exactly, has changed. It could be something as boring as normal aging, but she just seems to be less groomed or something. Was she wearing a little makeup and Steve made her quit?

It's her newly enormous eyebrows. She seems like she enjoys taking care of herself- makeup, nice hair, well groomed- and it looks like Steve/Teri may have put a stop to it. Making an idol out of her face or something, I guess. I think Mary is really lovely, even with the eyebrows. The plucking did help though.

[formerlyfundie]

It's her newly enormous eyebrows. She seems like she enjoys taking care of herself- makeup, nice hair, well groomed- and it looks like Steve/Teri may have put a stop to it. Making an idol out of her face or something, I guess. I think Mary is really lovely, even with the eyebrows. The plucking did help though.

I am glad I'm not the only one who thinks something looks different with Mary. I thought her face looked wider/fuller, and her eyebrows are definitely different. Could be her just maturing and not being a teenager anymore, but she does look quite different lately.

[treemom]

Didn't Sarah once say she used to wear makeup, but her family said she looked so much better without it she stopped? I wonder if something like that happened with Mary.

I don't really care who does and doesn't wear makeup. I regularly don't wear any and even go to work like that. But I like to wear it as well and am glad I make that choice based on how I feel about makeup, not what others tell me they think I look like.

[WonderingInWA]

I think Mary is letting her unibrow grow back. Personal choice, but I thought she looked better with the brows thinner.

[FloraKitty35]

Also, maybe he had more, but that looks like a fairly miserly meal Drew had. It looks like a couple of meat chunks and a few beans. Is that what passes for dinner? I know he's only little, but surely he should have a little more? Especially cos he's a growing toddler. His meal looks like leftovers.

And not even particularly appetizing leftovers.

[donnal]

It's her newly enormous eyebrows. She seems like she enjoys taking care of herself- makeup, nice hair, well groomed- and it looks like Steve/Teri may have put a stop to it. Making an idol out of her face or something, I guess. I think Mary is really lovely, even with the eyebrows. The plucking did help though.

Oh my Lord, I only started following the Maxwells recently and had no idea she used to have normal eyebrows. Her current eyebrows have been so distracting every time I visit their blog. In fact I have their blog titled on my bookmarks list as "Eyebrows and Sadness".

[Toothfairy]

I asked if they did anything special. Comment denied!

Don't you see they're already doing something special.

[DaffyDill]

Mary has changed....I think she was wearing some makeup in the earlier photo, and shaping her eyebrows...but not now. I hope Steve or Terri didn't make her feel badly for wanting to look her best, but it wouldn't surprise me.

Sept 2014

Sept 2015

[Palimpsest]

It's her newly enormous eyebrows. She seems like she enjoys taking care of herself- makeup, nice hair, well groomed- and it looks like Steve/Teri may have put a stop to it. Making an idol out of her face or something, I guess. I think Mary is really lovely, even with the eyebrows. The plucking did help though.

Possibly Steve has decided that Mary was making an idol of her tweezers. I hope he gives them back.

I don't remember calling Mary "beautiful." I have remarked, as have others, that the Maxwell women are all attractive in person. They just don't photograph well. Mary was very awkward looking as an early teen, and it was nice to see her blossom out of the ugly duckling braces and unibrow stage as she grew up.