Maxwell 15: Simplifying Thanksgiving into Less than Regular Dinner

[Myfanwy]

These guys are amazing. Truly, ruly amazing. Give 'em anything; a piece of completely non-offensive music, a meal, a celebration a major life event, and they can rip the fun right out. I am pretty sure they don't even have to try. Joy removal is their super power. 

[Ozlsn]

8 hours ago, Captain Obvious said:

<snip> ..unless somehow the spinsters can find a way to host a wedding shower that’s suitably Maxwellian, unlike the f*n bachelorette party that Allison no doubt has planned.

I have got to stop reading f*n as... well, a common expletive, my mind just went straight to a batchelorette party a la Bridesmaids. Which I know is unlikely even if part of me secretly hopes Sarah gets totally smashed on champagne and runs off with a Christian biker she met in a bar. 

[Corntree]

Regarding John being the "difficult child," I wanted to comment on what Teri said about him in her article on raising difficult children here:

http://articles.titus2.com/difficult-child-part-1/

Quote

When this child introduces himself at our music session, he says, “Hello, my name is John. I am nineteen, and I play the banjo. I wasn’t what you would call a model child growing up. As a matter of fact, because of how difficult I was, I think my mom was able to write that book, Homeschooling with a Meek and Quiet Spirit. I expect if I had been put into a public school, they would have labeled me with a learning disability. However, the reality was that I was simply lazy.”

WHAT. First of all, I'm not even sure he even said that. It sounds kinda fake to me. But I would never want my teenager to tell a crowd of strangers during the introductions at the music session that he had been a difficult, lazy child especially if he didn't say a single good thing about himself. That's some extreme focus on your faults and weird self flagellation to me. Now it might be appropriate for him or Teri to mention his childhood behavior in a session about obeying your parents/overcoming sin or raising "difficult" children. (This is not to say I agree with their ideas about sin, etc., just that it would actually make sense to bring up his past in that context.)

But I approve of some of what Teri says in the rest of the article:

Quote

Steve and I found that we had to encourage ourselves greatly about our difficult child. We knew the importance of loving and accepting him, but his behavior caused us to sometimes have negative feelings toward him... Seeing that we were both struggling helped us realize that our feelings were normal even though they weren’t ones we wanted to allow to fester...

We discovered we needed to deal with John very quietly and in a matter of fact manner... Because of the ongoing nature of the problems, it was extremely easy to have an irritated tone in our voices almost before the first word was out. We knew that anger, impatience, and frustration were not the vehicles to loving our son and helping him. Therefore, his behavior was our training ground as well—a training ground for our own growth in self-control.

Though I will add that doing things in a loving way doesn't mean they weren't being too controlling or over the top about sin. Michael Pearl stresses you should not spank a child in anger but I still think it's wrong to spank a kid all the time to break their will even if you're calm about it.

[lilith]

The Maxwells don’t write about spanking their kids (at least they haven’t in anything I’ve read), but I think that’s just cause they are middle class enough to know that it would come across as unacceptable to many readers. I have no doubt they used a rod of correction of some form.

[FloraKitty35]

I could get a better tasting Thanksgiving dinner, if I bought a Turkey Bowl at Wawa.  (I don't like the turkey, it is turkey roll.  I do like the stuffing and gravy with cranberry sauce on top.)  It is a guilty pleasure.   As a side note, I don't really care about Thanksgiving.  My Mom-Mom was killed in a auto accident two days before Thanksgiving 1998.  

[Tatar-tot]

As much as the Maxwells claim to be well versed in the Bible I believe they skipped this passage:

Matthew 7:1-3King James Version (KJV)

7 Judge not, that ye be not judged.

2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

To the best of my knowledge God did not appoint  S/T judge and jury to who is Christian or not.  It may be helpful if they focus on their own character defects rather than worry about others behavior.  

[divadivine]

This is the recipe my Mom uses for Cranberry Salad. You can also add mandarin oranges and pineapple if you wish (in addition to the other ingredients.) http://www.cooks.com/recipe/6h75w6ev/ruth-lyons-cranberry-salad.html

[albanuadh_1]

The scant Thanksgiving dinner: Each to their own but with 3 adult 'children' ( oxymoron?) in the house , it could be much grander than this. I think Terri doesn't want it and/ or Steve is very stringent about food amounts. 

I'm certain they have a freezer ( for the bean burritos) so the desserts and some of the dishes could be made ahead. Lessen the rush. Also, how difficult is it to 'cook' frozen peas and corn? Chop carrots? 

[Justmurrayed]

I'm not sure what I'm surprised but I can't believe that my husband and I had MORE at our Thanksgiving with only us attending. Of course, we wanted leftovers. Also, that salad looks disgusting; it isn't a salad. 

12lb turkey(we made turkey soup and turkey pot pie), gluten-free stuffing, roasted squash, peas, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce for him, gravy for me, and apple crisp and vanilla ice cream for dessert. 

 

[JermajestyDuggar]

If my great grandma walked into that Maxwell thread on thanksgiving she would loudly ask, "where's the rest of it?"

My great grandmother showed love with food and she would roll over in her grave if she saw a thanksgiving spread like the Maxwells. 

[anjulibai]

4 hours ago, Tatar-tot said:

As much as the Maxwells claim to be well versed in the Bible I believe they skipped this passage:

Matthew 7:1-3King James Version (KJV)

7 Judge not, that ye be not judged.

2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

To the best of my knowledge God did not appoint  S/T judge and jury to who is Christian or not.  It may be helpful if they focus on their own character defects rather than worry about others behavior.  

Oh, they know this passage. And they will be the first to tell you what great sinners they are themselves. But they've been saved! And they don't judge those that are actively seeking Jesus. Brother in that passage only refers to those that are also Christian. So, it's totes cool to judge people that are not Christian. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

It looks like Rebecca Eleventy!!!! Has received her invitation to the wedding. She seems like a nice girl. I bet she will have fun. 

[PennySycamore]

I see that someone who posted about their Thanksgiving menu calls deviled eggs "angeled* eggs".  I suppose that's better than calling them picnic eggs but it's so fucking unnecessary.  Deviled just refers to the fact that there's a little spice in them, usually paprika. And they always contain mustard.  The term deviled dates from the 18th century, btw.

Here's what Cecil Adams of The Straight Dope says about the term "deviled" in cooking:

What's Up with Deviled Eggs, Ham, etc?

*There is also "angel" eggs which are a lighter version of deviled eggs.  I doubt this is what the commenter on Tits2 was talking about.

 

 

[Rosie]

3 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

It looks like Rebecca Eleventy!!!! Has received her invitation to the wedding. She seems like a nice girl. I bet she will have fun. 

How do we know?  No mention on her blog.

She seems like a good-hearted and genuinely nice person.

[BullyJBG]

57 minutes ago, Rosie said:

How do we know?  No mention on her blog.

She seems like a good-hearted and genuinely nice person.

On Chelsy's blog.

[kpmom]

14 hours ago, Corntree said:

Regarding John being the "difficult child," I wanted to comment on what Teri said about him in her article on raising difficult children here:

http://articles.titus2.com/difficult-child-part-1/

 

I always wondered about that "John was a difficult child." stuff.

Was John all that difficult, or was he just less inclined to get in line and obey as the other children?  The Maxwells followed the Pearls for a time.  Did John refuse to be "trained" in their methods, unlike his siblings?

They don't go into details of how they considered him "difficult" other than that he had trouble focusing on school work. I'd be very interested in the kinds of things he did to be considered "difficult".

 

 

 

[divadivine]

Hell, John was probably “difficult” because he was starving. You can only eat so many tasteless, bland, bean burritos and two animal cookies before you crack. Steve you blow as a parent. Jesus is watching you, Steve-o. Jesus is watching. He knows everything.  

[Fluffles]

Just wondering is it normal to serve a Summer salad at a Thanksgiving dinner. We don't really do Thanksgiving in Ireland but I always think because it is in Winter that the meal should be full of warm, tasty dishes , a bit like Christmas here. That menu sounds as if it was devised in Terri's depression days to keep stress at a minimum. With 3 adult daughters in the house surely these domestic goddesses could come up with something a bit more appetising. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

2 hours ago, Rosie said:

How do we know?  No mention on her blog.

She seems like a good-hearted and genuinely nice person.

She replied to Chelsy's recent blog post that she had received her invitation in the mail. I'm sure Rebecca would move heaven and earth to make it to the wedding. She seems to really like both families. 

[johnhugh]

6 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

She replied to Chelsy's recent blog post that she had received her invitation in the mail. I'm sure Rebecca would move heaven and earth to make it to the wedding. She seems to really like both families. 

Will she bag Jess at the reception?

I know I shouldn’t laugh.....

“His Way Services November  10, 2017 at 10:03 PM

Our invite came today! Thanks for sharing all the pics of you two together!

Reply”

[albanuadh_1]

Fluffles: I tend to think of Thanksgiving dinner filled with harvest veggies and I do mean FILLED. The salad , to me, does seem summery.

[Tatar-tot]

6 hours ago, anjulibai said:

Oh, they know this passage. And they will be the first to tell you what great sinners they are themselves. But they've been saved! And they don't judge those that are actively seeking Jesus. Brother in that passage only refers to those that are also Christian. So, it's totes cool to judge people that are not Christian. 

It is okay to selective judge?  My goodness!  Who knew?

[Lillybee]

I have had turkey cooked in one of those bags and the turkey turned out mushy and the skin flaccid. The Maxwells may like this method because it does cut down on oven splatters/

[freethemall]

3 hours ago, Fluffles said:

Just wondering is it normal to serve a Summer salad at a Thanksgiving dinner. We don't really do Thanksgiving in Ireland but I always think because it is in Winter that the meal should be full of warm, tasty dishes , a bit like Christmas here. That menu sounds as if it was devised in Terri's depression days to keep stress at a minimum. With 3 adult daughters in the house surely these domestic goddesses could come up with something a bit more appetising. 

I think a lot of people have salad at Thanksgiving but it's often more seasonal - last year I made one for ours with arugula, beets, pears, walnuts, and blue cheese. Previously I made this killer brussel sprout and bacon salad. 

Summer, fall, winter, spring - I don't care what season, Terri's layered thing looks disgusting year round.

[theologygeek]

Is there a little war of words going on between both families?  Sarah posted that Chesly and John were working on HIS house, while Mama Bontrager said they were working on THEIR house.

Regarding the Maxwell Thanksgiving dinner...Are they all dieting?