Maxwell 11: Anna Marie Has Conceived - Again

[SPHASH]

I think Poor Sarah is allowed to drive to her married brother's houses and that's it.  Scary Mary and Goofy Anna couldn't go to OCC in Denver without a brother in tow either.

[Markie]

I wonder if Sarah, Anna and Mary will wear their hiking skirts? Do they listen to Steves sermons in the vehicles while driving? Does Dad and Jesse ride up front and Mom ride back with the girls? I hope John has been working away from home. 

[FloraDoraDolly]

10 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I think Hot John is either in a courtship or has a job outside of the family that keeps him away from family activities. Either way, I'm glad John is getting out of some of the family activities. I just wish his female siblings could....

Since Sarah left her dog with Christopher's family, I take it John is either out of town on his own business or else he has fled the compound?

[usmcmom]

7 minutes ago, FloraDoraDolly said:

Since Sarah left her dog with Christopher's family, I take it John is either out of town on his own business or else he has fled the compound?

Is it weird that I am really sad for Ellie because she was left at Christopher's house?  

Will Chris let her inside out of the heat? Will he let her play with the kids?  Will she be limited to a corner in the garage or laundry room for the duration of Sarah's absence? 

Free Ellie!! 

[Captain Obvious]

4 hours ago, Hane said:

It just dawned on me:  Poor Sarah doesn't even have a car of her own.  No chance to just hop in her car and go to the drugstore for a lipstick and a bottle of nail polish, or to a local farm stand for interesting produce, or, heck, just cruise around the countryside alone with her thoughts or some good tunes. 

I know many of us here don't have cars because they have ready access to public  transportation, so I realize a car isn't a necessity for everyone. But I think I'd go batty if I lived in a small town like Leavenworth and had no transportation of my own.

In this post, she has a car - though I don't know if it's actually hers or shared with her sisters, or Teri. It's definitely not the van/mini-van though.

https://blog.titus2.com/2015/10/27/anna-marie-hosts-a-surprise-party/

[theologygeek]

Their latest blog post...I'm having a hard time finding the words for it.  "Volleyball for us kids"  Parents refer to their children as kids, no matter how old they are.  But it's odd for a woman Sarah's age to refer to herself like that.  She could have said "Mom and dad were (wherever), and my sisters and I played volleyball."  It's so pathetically sad.  And the glacier pond...  Summers are short and should be enjoyed to the fullest.  They should be filled with beaches, fairs, fun foods, picnics, outdoor concerts, pools, relaxing.  The closest the sisters have to summer in the water is wading in a cold glacier pond.  Anna tells her sister that it won't be so cold if she stays in the water.  Sarah tries it and says it works.  Sarah honey, it's called being numb.  Teri should be lounging in a beach chair for her birthday, watching the waves and relaxing.   She should be sleeping in a Marriott bed and getting waited on.  I can't imagine spending all my vacations climbing mountains, being dirty, sweaty, and around bugs, never mind for my birthday too.  It's no wonder that Teri looks a lot older than she is and frazzled to bits.  She must hold a lot of stress in. 

[anjulibai]

Yeah, that was an odd post. Poor Jesse being the only guy still left in Maxhell with the girls, Steve and Teri. 

[nvmbr02]

3 hours ago, theologygeek said:

Their latest blog post...I'm having a hard time finding the words for it.  "Volleyball for us kids"  Parents refer to their children as kids, no matter how old they are.  But it's odd for a woman Sarah's age to refer to herself like that.  (snip)

I can't imagine spending all my vacations climbing mountains, being dirty, sweaty, and around bugs, never mind for my birthday too.  It's no wonder that Teri looks a lot older than she is and frazzled to bits.  She must hold a lot of stress in. 

I do agree that Sarah referring to herself and her siblings as kids is very odd. 

But I would take a vacation in the mountains with dirt and bugs over a beach vacation any day. I've never been a beach person. I dislike salt water and I hate sand. I do like sitting on a blanket and listening to the waves but that is about it. I've been living on an island for the past 14 months and I can not wait until we are able to move somewhere else. 

[Coconutwater]

3 hours ago, theologygeek said:

Their latest blog post...I'm having a hard time finding the words for it.  "Volleyball for us kids"  Parents refer to their children as kids, no matter how old they are.  But it's odd for a woman Sarah's age to refer to herself like that.  

It's odd, my parents only refer to my brothers and I as kids in front of other people like "we have 4 kids, this is so and so..." after I turned 18 I was referred to as an adult not a child in their eyes to me. I've never thought to refer to my brothers and I as "while my parents did this, us kids..." first it's grammatically incorrect and secondly, none of us are kids anymore. It would have sounded better to say we all went and played volleyball while mom and dad did whatever...wait it's always dad and mom there.

[fundiefan]

So, the 'kids' played volleyball and 'the girls' convinced Sarah - - isn't she a girl? -- to try the pond again?

They infantilize themselves as much as their insane parents do. 

[bertnee]

I find it so strange when Sarah refers to "the girls" (aka her two sisters) - it's like she is their mother or something, not their big sister.

[Foudeb]

Well she likely used to be their sister-mom.

[Odd1Out]

15 hours ago, usmcmom said:

Is it weird that I am really sad for Ellie because she was left at Christopher's house?  

Will Chris let her inside out of the heat? Will he let her play with the kids?  Will she be limited to a corner in the garage or laundry room for the duration of Sarah's absence? 

Free Ellie!! 

Will she be required to wear a thick, plastic bib when she eats?

[singsingsing]

Eh... I totally agree that the Maxwell kidults are majorly infantilized, but how are you supposed to refer to yourself and your siblings as a group when you're trying to differentiate yourself from your parents? "Us siblings"? "Us brothers and sisters"? "Us kids" just sounds less clunky, and it's not really inaccurate - in that context 'kids' is just a colloquial term for 'children', and no matter your age you're always the child of your parents. My dad and his siblings will still refer to themselves as 'the kids' when talking about themselves in relation to their parents, and they're all in their late 40s and 50s.

[FloraDoraDolly]

Considering how rabidly anti-sports Steve is, I'm surprised "the kids" were allowed to play volleyball. Has he loosened up? Or does he feel "the kids" are past the age where sports are a danger to their souls and will put the whole "keeping their hearts" thing in jeopardy? I mean, it's not like they're going to join a team or anything like that.

[mango_fandango]

He's ok with sports, just as long as there's no club element (where you might meet outsiders of the opposite sex...) and no competitive element either.

[FloraDoraDolly]

1 hour ago, mango_fandango said:

He's ok with sports, just as long as there's no club element (where you might meet outsiders of the opposite sex...) and no competitive element either.

According to Steve, playing sports also distracts boys from their work. He also didn't want his sons looking up to a coach as a leader or role model. Steve was to be their only role model. No one else. Playing sports purely for exercise may not be harmful in and of itself, except it creates appetites for organized sports. And the best way to keep children on the straight-and-narrow is never to give them a taste of what they're missing.

[Corntree]

I actually respect the Maxwell females for wearing those ankle length denim skirts even when they're hiking and stuff. They're willing to stick to their principles. Occasionally I see fundie women who almost always wear skirts but will wear pants if they're doing something physical. That seems like cheating to me. And at least no one is saying that hiking in skirts is impractical, so women shouldn't hike. They may not be physical exerting themselves as much as the Maxwell males, though.

[albanuadh_1]

I see John made it to Colorado. Is that supposed to be enchiladas they are eating?

[Palimpsest]

A couple of reality checks because the Maxwells are great at misdirection:

On 8/18/2017 at 2:14 PM, JermajestyDuggar said:

I think Hot John is either in a courtship or has a job outside of the family that keeps him away from family activities. Either way, I'm glad John is getting out of some of the family activities. I just wish his female siblings could....

John has his irrigation thing and he's traveled separately from the family on several occasions.  He drove Uriah cross-country when they sold it, been to conferences alone, and went on his first mission trip all by himself.  Those are the ones we know about.

It's also not unheard of for John (and Joseph before he married) to join the rest of the family in CO later due to "work."

On 8/18/2017 at 9:49 PM, mango_fandango said:

Sarah isn't allowed out alone unless she's with her sisters. I think she walks Ellie alone, although even then a sister is probably roped in a lot.

No.  Sarah is allowed out by herself although it seems Mary and Anna are seldom separated.  She calls and texts frequently when she's out of the direct sight of Steve and Teri.

On 8/19/2017 at 1:33 AM, Captain Obvious said:

In this post, she has a car - though I don't know if it's actually hers or shared with her sisters, or Teri. It's definitely not the van/mini-van though.

Sarah also drove that small car (all by herself) to take photos of John's truck when he was in an accident.  That was a hugely exciting blog post.

The Maxwells have quite a fleet of vehicles.  Whether they are individually owned or belong to the family business, I don't know.  They probably have a family meeting to decide whether someone needs a new car and what make it should be. I also think the "downsizing" just meant Steve swapped the bigger van for Nathan's smaller one.

I've always wondered how the Maxwell finances work.  They all work for the family businesses in some way or another, although Nathan, Chris and John have done outside work.  Does all the money go into CCI (or Swift Otter) and then amounts get doled out by family consensus (or Steve's decision.)  Or do Nathan, John and Chris keep the cash earned independently?

When a son buys a house "debt-free" is it with their own money from their own bank account, or does Steve loosen the purse-strings and dole it out of the family funds when he considers they are ready?

Sarah has her books (published by CCI) and Steve claims that the daughters all earn paychecks, but do any of the adult children pay rent?  Do Anna and Mary buy stuff for Christmas Child with allowances or from their paychecks?  Does Anna get paid for doing the majority of the cooking these days?  What about Ellie?  Did Sarah buy her with money earned from Moody books or did she have to save her allowance up too?  

@usmcmom, I feel sorry for Ellie too.  Sarah made a big point of saying that Ellie enjoyed hiking in CO last year and I really don't think she gets enough exercise.

[anjulibai]

Okay, why is this pose hard to pull off? Is Anna trying to be difficult? 

[molecule]

1 hour ago, anjulibai said:

Okay, why is this pose hard to pull off? Is Anna trying to be difficult? 

I wondered if it was because they were wearing skirts.

[SPHASH]

Now they have a recap of Griselda's birthday.  Poor Sarah forgot to post pics.  Hi Coward Steve!  Here he is checking out FJ.    

[nomoxian]

I wonder if the enchiladas had meat . Did Slimy Steve 'suggest' that part be left out of the blog, since we always make comments about their bean burritos?

It appears as if the birthday meal consisted of a wrap of some sort, along with one (!!) chocolate chip cookie. And for breakfast they had scrambled egg with no veg or meat, wrapped in a burrito, along with something that looks like yogurt. Totally enough food to consume before hiking all the way up a mountain!

[Granwych]

On ‎8‎/‎18‎/‎2017 at 5:57 AM, 16strong said:

Does anyone remember that time the Maxwells went on vacation to Colorado? The one where they hiked a 14er? Asking because I can't remember which vacation that was.

They're all so blandly alike, from vacations to schedules to whatever.

4 hours ago, SPHASH said:

Now they have a recap of Griselda's birthday.  Poor Sarah forgot to post pics.  Hi Coward Steve!  Here he is checking out FJ.    

And the last thing I'd be doing is checking anything on a computer while on vacation.  Oh, wait...this is the Maxwells we're reading about.