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Family Living on Purpose (FLOP?): Erika Shupe pt. 10


December

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16 minutes ago, JillyO said:

True. But why start a new blog if you're not gonna post on it?

I agree with @The limit does not exist, the timing of the blog's move lined up with the other lifestyle changes too perfectly. Easier to rebrand and start fresh than have to reconcile the differences, perhaps? I'd imagine any big changes making it harder for someone to find the time/desire to write, too, even if they intended to do it more. 

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There is one thing and one thing only that could possibly be of interest on Erika's blog: What caused the 180 in their lives from SAHD, homeschool only, skirts only, yada yada.  What, Erika? WHAT?  What bright line hasn't been crossed?  I mean, SHE COULD BE USING BIRTH CONTROL and none of us knows about it.  

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3 hours ago, Howl said:

There is one thing and one thing only that could possibly be of interest on Erika's blog: What caused the 180 in their lives from SAHD, homeschool only, skirts only, yada yada.  What, Erika? WHAT?  What bright line hasn't been crossed?  I mean, SHE COULD BE USING BIRTH CONTROL and none of us knows about it.  

Yep, that's all I want to know. It came up again on FB recently and she stuck with the "we-didn't-change-our-beliefs-and-we-aren't-telling-you-why -because-of-privacy" line.

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I think I'm a little behind the times on this thread but am I the only one who puts fresh garlic in the guacamole?  My standard is avocado, fresh garlic, cilantro, a little lime juice, and salt and pepper.  No tomato usually.

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18 minutes ago, Cheetah said:

I think I'm a little behind the times on this thread but am I the only one who puts fresh garlic in the guacamole?  My standard is avocado, fresh garlic, cilantro, a little lime juice, and salt and pepper.  No tomato usually.

No, you're not alone!  My guacamole has the same ingredients as yours.  And I usually quintuple the garlic in any written recipe.   YUMM.  ***how come we don't have a vampire emoji?!?!***

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2 hours ago, Cheetah said:

I think I'm a little behind the times on this thread but am I the only one who puts fresh garlic in the guacamole?  My standard is avocado, fresh garlic, cilantro, a little lime juice, and salt and pepper.  No tomato usually.

I do the same. Lime, garlic, avocado. That's it. I'm a cilantro hater, so none of that. :P

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I think it's entirely possible that Erika just doesn't have a clue what to write about. Now that she no longer homeschools, a vast part of her identity is gone. As I've said before, this is the problem when you don't use a blog as your diary. You eventually run out of things to post. She probably posted the stuff about breakfast, lunch and snacks just as something to post, but maybe realised that she was clutching at straws? She wouldn't stop posting because of us, hell no. We weren't being horrible in our snark, just pointing out that most public school moms have a lot more experience than she does. Maybe she realised that for herself, that it does seem a bit daft for someone with only a year's experience as a PSM to be posting about how best to pick up your child and how to do their lunches.  

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13 hours ago, DarkAnts said:

So, is the dog still around or did it get rehomed?

I believe I saw the dog (Happy, unless that was the old dog) sitting on the couch while the kids were doing one of their line dances.  He probably didn't want to get trampled.  Not much room in that living room.  As a side note - Did anyone else notice the HUGE TV they have now?  They used to watch all of their movies on the computer monitor, I believe.  This has to be a 40" or larger TV now.  Their bird's cage, that is never mentioned by Erika, was next to the big TV. 

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2 hours ago, fundiefollower said:

As a side note - Did anyone else notice the HUGE TV they have now? 

OH. MAH. GAWD.  This is big (literally) but also means there's a bit of discretionary cash for luxuries.  Who wants to guess that Mr. Erika's Headship also got his tube tied?  Maybe at some point, he just said "Enough is enough, Erika!". 

 

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2 hours ago, fundiefollower said:

 As a side note - Did anyone else notice the HUGE TV they have now?  

*spits water all over keyboard* Say WHAT?! The Shupes now own a TV? What in the name of Froot Loop necklaces is going on over there?!

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I was snooping around on the older girls' google+ accounts (public) and found an interesting exchange between Melanie and Karen's supposed boyfriend and fellow churchgoer Jesse:

[Melanie posts picture of cozy cabin in the woods, saying that's the dream life]

Quote

Jesse: that would be the most boring life of all time...I kinda find this funny coming from you Melanie

Melanie: who are you kidding that's paradise right there. and I don't see why you find it "funny"; you know as well as I do that I would love nothing more than to live alone (w/ maybe one or two others) somewhere just like that with my pets and books. leaving only when I feel like it. and for necessary shopping and work.

Jesse: But you come to church every week like "OMG I'm finally here! PEOPLE!!!!"

Melanie: Yeah, because I don't have the freedom to choose when I get to see my friends and be with our church-fam. I am literally blocked from being with anyone but MY fam except for Sundays.
It's quite different when free will isn't in the equation.

I really feel for her. Karen has a job outside the home and a boyfriend and seems pretty content. The other kids are in school. Melanie is still stuck finishing school at home at 17 on a rigid Erica schedule. Something or someone prompted Bob to choose a different life for the younger kids (I still think Erica was opposed to it), but Melanie really got the short end of the stick. No wonder she wants to live alone with pets and books. I would too if I slept in a triple bunk my whole life.

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This is the kind of situation that creates a daughter who will do anything, marry anyone to GET.OUT.OF.THE.DAMNED.HOUSE!  Hoping she can get a job soon and live independently.  When is she set to "graduate"?  This spring or next year?

 

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Completely gutted for the older girls, who bore the brunt of Erika's experimental lifestyle, and now are still constrained within it, while their sibs (who they still seem to sister-mom) get more freedom than they do.  At least Karen has a job - poor, poor Melanie.

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12 hours ago, Howl said:

This is the kind of situation that creates a daughter who will do anything, marry anyone to GET.OUT.OF.THE.DAMNED.HOUSE!  Hoping she can get a job soon and live independently.  When is she set to "graduate"?  This spring or next year?

 

Since they are only 13 months apart and Karen graduated last year, I am strongly assuming/hoping that Melanie graduates this year and will be able to get a job just like Karen. Or (even better) go to art school. I was pretty surprised they didn't graduate together as Erika had always made it seem like she had them in the same grade level for convenience's sake.

Did we know Karen has a boyfriend? Is this confirmed?

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Oh, love Karen's Google+. I thought it would be a snooze believing Erika had already washed out every original thought out of those kids' heads but no, she seems a very normal teen including a video making fun of Trump. Not heavy criticism, just pretend lip reading but still, would Erika have allowed that a few years ago? Not likely I think. There is hope for those kids and I don't think that will be from marrying the first guy, they will live a normal life.

And Happy was in pictures uploaded in March so I think it is safe to say he is still around.

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I kinda miss being able to see the stuff on the public page, but am too scared to make a fake profile to specifically join the new page...

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3 hours ago, elliha said:

There is hope for those kids and I don't think that will be from marrying the first guy, they will live a normal life.

I think this is what we'd like for all this kids in thrall to some forms of fundy-dom -- to just have a normal life with normal choices, joys and heartbreaks. 

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My heart absolutely breaks for Melanie. All these changes around Casa del Shupe and yet the children are still basically prisoners. I am relieved that M has some way to express her feelings and people that are not her family (I have always found the Shupettes to be likeable, so this doesn't really surprise me) but being able to see this situation in all its horror can't be comfortable. How do they cope day to day? As an introvert from a large family with a fundish mother, I find this incredibly triggering and feel almost panicky for Melanie. I hope she can get out of there asap without burning too many bridges, and that in the meantime she can find ways to keep herself safe, physically and psychologically. Dream big and get out of there, Melanie!

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On 5/19/2017 at 1:57 AM, mango_fandango said:

Maybe she realised that for herself, that it does seem a bit daft for someone with only a year's experience as a PSM to be posting about how best to pick up your child and how to do their lunches.  

I wonder if she really thought she could quickly rebrand herself as an expert in public schooling without anyone noticing that she is just a newbie? The thing is, most of Erika's followers aren't interested in public school stories and most public school parents aren't interested in Erika. The absolute only way to make her blog interesting is to write about their life changes and how they have adjusted, something she isn't willing to do.

FLOP isn't going to have any sort of a long term appeal the way she is doing it now. Posting videos of her kids dancing isn't going to keep people interested, especially the people she built her fan base on. 

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4 minutes ago, formergothardite said:

The thing is, most of Erika's followers aren't interested in public school stories and most public school parents aren't interested in Erika. 

This is such an amazing point. The audience she built up in the past is interested in how to make homeschooling Work, not how to go in the complete other direction. 

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25 minutes ago, formergothardite said:

The thing is, most of Erika's followers aren't interested in public school stories and most public school parents aren't interested in Erika. The absolute only way to make her blog interesting is to write about their life changes and how they have adjusted, something she isn't willing to do.

Exactly. I actually think her blog's popularity would skyrocket if she did some kind of confessional - why the change, what the difficulties have been, why keep Melanie homeschooling, etc. I would be all over that like white on rice. 

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Recently, on the FLOP Facebook page, someone actually quoted one of Erika's blog posts in which Erika really blasts public schools and the parents who choose it. Bob responded with something like "You assume we have changed our views on public school and we have not."  This was all in response to the commenter saying Erika owed her readers an explanation considering how strongly she felt about public school and how harshly she preached against it. 

I actually agree with the commenter; especially after re-reading the blog post. 

Not sure what we can share here from FLOP but I guess I can link to the original blog post??? 

ETA:  Below is what the commenter quoted regarding the Shupes' decision. I hope it is okay to share this since it is from the original blog. 

"This is from the original blog:
May I speak openly to you and offer you a warning? It may seem right now for a time that you have no real difficulties in life because it seems that you and your husband have plenty of money. But with both of you working, and leaving your children to be raised by someone else for the majority of every day of every week…your children are the ones who will likely pay the price, and therefore you as well in several years. Your children do not have "you" teaching them, training them up with good character and discipline. They have the influence of 25 or so other peers (fools as scripture calls them) their own age, who have no more knowledge, no wisdom, no good direction or self control or anything. Rather than learning from all ages of people and older people than themselves who can give them knowledge and wisdom and character for their life, they are given over to the "real authority" (government education and awful peer influence) you've shown them and whom they should listen to.
You ask why homeschoolers and single income families would choose this difficult lifestyle? Well first of all because it's God's direction, and that is for the sake of the children. Stay at home, homeschooling moms are doing the harder job for the sake of the children. To train them and educate them, develop them, shelter them from danger and evil influences until they are strong enough to take it on for themselves, and to be the loving presence they need. It's self-sacrifice for the sake of others. It's a lot easier to go to a job every day and get paid and have plenty of money. But that's not why God created us and put us here on earth.
The children will most likely suffer later. And I believe you know this already, but people's eternal life is also at stake when they don't love the Lord and obey His Word. There will be a judgement some day, and an eternal destiny for every person – whether you believe it or not. Will you be prepared? Will your children?
I say these things to you strait forwardly, KL, out of love. Because I would not be a good friend if I did not at some point warn you of what is coming your way, no matter how comfortable life feels right now. *hugs*"

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So, hang on. If they haven't changed their views on public schools, why are 7 of the kids at one? Even though they've had financial difficulties in the past they still kept them at home, so what the hell happened to force them to send their kids to a public school? I just don't get it.

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Just now, mango_fandango said:

So, hang on. If they haven't changed their views on public schools, why are 7 of the kids at one? Even though they've had financial difficulties in the past they still kept them at home, so what the hell happened to force them to send their kids to a public school? I just don't get it.

Exactly. They consider public schools to be equal to sending your kids straight to hell but...meh...let's go ahead and send them anyway. Talk about having absolutely NO true values. Here, we see major hypocrisy in the fundie world yet again. 

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