Melanie Maxwell's family

[jeansonly]

I apologize if this is old news.

 

I was snooping around and found the names of her parents and siblings and managed to find some of their FB pages. Most of them have the majority of their pictures set to private but you can see some. And not a frumper among them many pants. One of her brothers even has a picture of him and his wife at the beach wearing normal bathing suits. According to their likes they do seem to be conservative Christians (I think every darn one of them "liked" chick fil a) but of the more normal sports loving, jeans wearing, tv watching sort.

 

She wasn't catholic was she? It seems one or more of her sisters attended a catholic college. Kind of surprised by that.

 

Anyway kind of sad to see her sister's living normal lives. NR Anna seems happy but it's hard to tell with Melanie. She's gone through so much with losing Susannah and the difficult pregnancies that it hasn't been easy for her anyway.

 

Can I post them here? Here is one.

 

http://www.facebookDOTcom/kaelyngrace

 

And a few more.

 

http://www.facebookDOTcom/anna.e.maher

 

http://www.facebookDOTcom/OlivJan

 

http://www.facebookDOTcom/kate.shoemaker

[tabitha2]

I don't know of any Fundies but for Sarah Maxwell or maybe some of the Staddon boys discussed here 30 or over who were born and raised hard core-they chose to become that way for various reasons and the siblings & parents are usually regular Christians...

[jeansonly]

I guess I assumed she was raised similar if she and her parents were willing to do the whole courtship thing and marry into the Maxwell family. Even then they were petty darn hard core and I can't imagine WANTING to marry into that. Those frumpers alone....*shiver*. And unlike NR Anna and Elizabeth, they lived nearby and knew the family first hand (didn't they attend the same church?). No excuses for not knowing what she was getting into.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

I suppose it's possible that Melanie herself was "born again" into the sort of fundie mold and was clearly sliding to the right (just think whatever the equivalent of a hard-core BT would be for a Christian) and so joined Nathan's church, even though the rest of her family wasn't so into it. If Steve-O saw her doing that, possibly he'd accept her? I mean, she's coming over to the One True Way after all?

Makes me wonder though what information is out there about their meeting/courtship etc. We know they met at some church back when at least Nathan was going to a "regular" (i.e. not nursing home, who knows how fundie) church... but possible only Melanie went there while her family wasn't remotely involved?

Interesting.

[tabitha2]

The Maxwells were not as isolated as they are now.They have been getting more so as years go by.

[Justme]

She and Nate met at a regular church. This was over 11 years ago, when the Maxwells were attending a regular church. I doubt it was a Catholic church. Like Nate, Mel never dated and saved her first kiss for the alter. Stevie never mentions her family so I have no idea how "fundie" her family stayed.

[TMS]

Pretty girls. You can really see the resemblance between them and Melanie. I wonder if Melanie gets together with her sisters and if Abby & Bethany get to play with their cousins.

[jeansonly]

Here is their courtship story. The families knew each other from church but "not well".

http://www.titus2.com/courtship/nathan-melanie.html

See, I've been following them since around this time and I don't think the Maxwell family is much different than they were then. They homeschooled of course and followed the whole patriarchal and modesty beliefs, including frumpers (if anything they dress slightly more normal now). No tv/sports/friends/youth group allowed. Really the only difference is regular church versus nursing home church and Nathan and Melanie did touch in their engagement photos from what I can remember. No kissing but I bet he was able to put the ring on her finger. Ok, Teri might still have been allowed her precious Pepsi!

[tabitha2]

Doubt it.Maxwells assimilate and make you part of the collective

[kpmom]

Good find, jeansonly. I always assumed Melanie's family were somewhat like the Maxwells, but obviously not.

She does spend Christmas day with her family, Teri herself has said that, and hopefully a lot more than that.

ETA: Wow! They watch tv and movies? Wear jeans and bathing suits? How did Melanie end up with the frumper loving Maxwells?

[ncb]

Interesting that none of them are FB friends with Nathan. We know he is on FB and is friends with Teri's sister, Aunt Tami...

[Justme]

Interesting that none of them are FB friends with Nathan. We know he is on FB and is friends with Teri's sister, Aunt Tami...

Is he still on FB? I thought someone recently posted his FB page was MIA...

[MamaJunebug]

I remember hearing that Nate's page was gone, too.

Can anybody tell me Aunt Tami's last name? I looked for her under a name posted previously but no luck.

(Never said I was good at FB...) :shock:

[FloraDoraDolly]

Hmmm, maybe Melanie and her siblings were raised fundie, but the others went fundie lite as adults while Melanie went in the opposite direction?

[ncb]

Tami Frazer Jassey is Terri's sister's name.

[NurseNell]

http://www.facebook.com/kaelyngrace

http://www.facebook.com/anna.e.maher

http://www.facebook.com/OlivJan

http://www.facebook.com/kate.shoemaker

Facebook addresses can be linked, it's blog addresses that shouldn't be. But even then, rather than putting dot, just leave off the http:// Makes it much easier for everyone.

[TMS]

I love, love, love the beach and can't imagine not being able to go every summer. I see her sisters have quite a few beach pictures. Poor Melanie, I'm sure the beach is off-limits as a Maxwell. I suppose her children will never know about the fun of playing in the waves, building sandcastles, and basking in the sun.

[lilith]

So Nathan and Melanie had a six week period of the families getting to know each other. Then they had a five month courtship and a few months between engagement and the wedding.

They went on dates and were even together in his house unchaperoned when Nathan proposed.

And now they have a marriage that has lasted over ten years and, from what we see, seems to be happy.

So why the craziness with Joseph and Elizabeth? The rush to courtship, rush to engagement, rush to wedding, with no touching at all and surrounded by one or both of their mega families at all times?

If Steve had allowed time for the families to get to know each other then Elizabeth may not have consented to the courtship if she didn't like what she saw. This would have saved both her and Joseph from "giving away pieces of their hearts".

And if they started courting, she would have had time to get to know Joseph properly before he proposed. She could have said no without it being the big deal that breaking an engagement the week before a wedding is.

But if she had said yes it would have been because she truly wanted to marry Joseph. She would have had time to plan her dream wedding and Joseph would have had time to work on their house and make it both of their dreamhouse, instead of a rushed renovation and a strangely eclectic beige register with a dozen pepper mills.

It just seems that Steve's strangeness, need for total control, and the ridiculously rushed wedding destroyed any chance Joseph may have had with Elizabeth.

You would think with the example of Nathan's successful marriage before him Steve would have used that as a template for courtship etc that actually works.

[TMS]

I know!!! I mentioned this same thing on another Maxwell thread. I think it may be plain ol' arrogance. Steve thinks he has the courtship model down. He also figures since their family is somewhat "celebrity" now (fundie royalty?), that the Muncks already knew about their awesomeness.

[YPestis]

The Maxwells were not as fundie crazy when Nathan was courting Melanie. Melanie and Nathan met in a "real" church and they were able allowed to touch, date (chaperoned) and get to know each other. Their courtship included the family getting to know each other for a month, then six? month of courtship and then engagement which lasted a few months. Their courtship allowed Melanie to absorb the crazy of the Maxwells. I think that slow introduction into their (less) fundie lives made it more palpable to marry Nathan.

Joseph and Elizabeth did a rushed courtship followed by a short engagement. They also had no time to get to know each other. And the Maxwells are more crazy now than when Melanie married. For Elizabeth, she had to absorb the Maxwell, now crazier than before, and in a very short amount of time. This must have overwhelmed her system. As the above poster stated, had the Maxwells allowed Elizabeth to get to know them better, and at a slower pace, she may decide to overlook all that because she formed a bond with Joseph. As it was done, they essentially treated her as an item whose sale was finalized by the shop keep and ready for pick up. I guess Steve should really try reading the news again because the US hasn't yet turned into Afghanistan and young girls can still choose their husbands.

[MamaJunebug]

Thank you, ncb!

ETA: O.mah.achin'back. You can see the resemblance to Teri - the shortish nose, the round jaw, the long space between nose and upper lip.

And there the resemblance ends. Her hair is long and waved nicely, with a headband (surely headbands are thisclose to jewelry to Steve-O-nians and thereby worldly and vile). She has a pleasant smile, and her face shows that she might have gained a pound or two over the years - she's by no means overweight! ... but she isn't taut and gaunt, like Teri.

I'd say that Aunt Tami enjoys a piece of cake with buttercream frosting on birthdays. And that if she's given two animal crackers, she passes them along to a great-niece or saves them for the ducks in the local pond.

Most of all, her interaction with her dad (almost sure it's Teri's dad in the photo with her). She's perched near the chair, looking at whatever he's just received, she's relaxed, there's a fairly evident vibe that these two are fond of each other.

Contrast that to the photo of the Steve-O-nians in which all are standing straight and tall and smiling (of course) into the camera, while Mr. & Mrs. Frazer are in their recliners way off to the side. Easily cropped out when they're not of use to Steve-O.

.... In the Maxwells have reached the cabin topic, someone explained that Jon & Anna stayed back because they didn't have water and wouldn't take anybody else's. Aren't they the two that sometimes seem to have looks of "I'm outta here, beaches" on them? Maybe Aunt Tami's is where they have tentative plans to travel as a halfway house. Maybe Tami will even get her sister back, some day. We can only hope.

[IReallyAmHopewell]

I have to wonder if Melanie simply fell in love with Nathan and decided HE was worth it? Or if it was a rebellion of sorts to go THAT conservative. But, don't I remember, too, that we saw her in normal exercise clothes? And, remember, we know only what the in-laws post on their very carefully scripted blog. She and Teri could fight like cats and dogs and we'd never know. Maybe when the in-laws aren't there Nathan and Melanie wear jeans and drink Pepsi and watch NASCAR races and defrauding R movies....

[Brittany15]

Do you think that maybe Melanie married Nathan at a time the family was not so crazy and now that they are going crazy she is in a way "stuck" and has no choice but to ride along with the craziness? She probably fell for Nathan at a time when he was just slightly more conservative than her. After they got married his parents ideas become more and more crazy and being already married to Nathan she had no choice but to go along with them. I am not saying that she does not love Nathan, but perhaps had she have met him today she would have thought twice about the marriage. Perhaps she loves him and so she just keeps her head down and carries through the craziness.

[Mela99]

I have to wonder if Melanie simply fell in love with Nathan and decided HE was worth it? Or if it was a rebellion of sorts to go THAT conservative. But, don't I remember, too, that we saw her in normal exercise clothes? And, remember, we know only what the in-laws post on their very carefully scripted blog. She and Teri could fight like cats and dogs and we'd never know. Maybe when the in-laws aren't there Nathan and Melanie wear jeans and drink Pepsi and watch NASCAR races and defrauding R movies....

When aren't the in-laws there tho? Wouldn't be far off to assume Steve has a key and walks in and out whenever he wants.

[YPestis]

When aren't the in-laws there tho? Wouldn't be far off to assume Steve has a key and walks in and out whenever he wants.

Well, we don't know how much the inlaws are involved in their lives. The blogs are carefully edited portions of their lives. For all we know, Melanie could spend the majority of her time with her family and take her children to outings that the NR Maxwell kids may not get to do. I always think it's interesting that Melanie never wears frumpers even when she is given them as gifts. She also seems to avoid having her kids wear those fugly things. I think Melanie is fundie and more conservative than her siblings but she stops short of Maxwell craziness.