Maxwell Christmas 2012

[Guest Anonymous]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

It is very sad that between us we can place the specific location in which every photo was taken. :D

[Marian the Librarian]

A lovely gesture, to be sure, but like everything the Maxwells do it's not truly altruistic. First, they can never do anything without throwing Jesus in the face of the recipients, without regard for the personal beliefs (or non beliefs) of the recipients. Jesus laid it on the hearts of the Maxwells and convicted them to bake those cookies, not out of a true sense of giving but because they need to spread the word to the unsaved. 2 cups of flour, a bag of morsels, a stick of butter, a dash of cinnamon all mixed together with the blood of Jesus who died for sins you didn't even know you committed. But secondly, and even more importantly, their motives--once you scratch the surface--are purely selfish. It's all about where you're going to go when you die so to ensure your place in heaven, just keep pumping out those good works. Nothing altruistic about it, it's all about what the Maxwells gain when they go to their great reward.

Here's a definition of altruism that pretty much says it all (yeah, it's from Wikipedia but it's spot on.) Altruism can be distinguished from feelings of duty and loyalty. Altruism is a motivation to provide something of value to a party who must be anyone but one's self, while duty focuses on a moral obligation towards a specific individual (e.g., a god, a king), or collective (e.g., a government). Pure altruism consists of sacrificing something for someone other than the self (e.g. sacrificing time, energy or possessions) with no expectation of any compensation or benefits, either direct, or indirect (e.g., receiving recognition for the act of giving).

There's no sacrifice here on the part of the Maxwells (not even of time, since they NEED to fill every waking moment) but according to their death culture, there's a lot they'll gain personally in the afterlife. Whether it's baking cookies for the police, handing out water at a fair, or ministering to The Elderly, behind that kind and generous facade lurks a grabby, selfish, me-me-me motivation.

+1.

Hey Steve, we know you read FJ. Here's a new year's challenge for you: do a good deed without following up with so much as a molecule of publicity.

[moreorlessnu]

Smart of them to think to individually wrap each cookie. It shows, they at least have a clue about the recipients, and the workings of a police station/place of business.

[emesbe]

I think that's actually a smaller bed in the girls' room, it's just hard to tell from the angle of the picture.

The color, layout and bedframe match this older picture of the girls' room when they were packing for Colorado.

Of course! Good sleuthing. That doll :twisted:

[WonderingInWA]

So, it looks like the single bed that can be see in both photos, it looks like it is a trundle. Which is weird for a family that never has house guests. Maybe they actually make up the mattress with sheets sometimes so poor Mary doesn't have to climb up to the top bunk to sleep. Can you imagine being her age and sleeping on a bunk bed? Well, and then being Poor Sarah's age and sleeping in the same bedroom as her much younger sisters? Oy.

[BornFree]

Their blog states the cookies were an "awesome" idea. Quite an overstatement. Just another demonstration of the kind of thing the Maxwells do to feel good about themselves and get brownie points toward their private elevator to heaven. As usual it's all about them.

[kpmom]

I think that's actually a smaller bed in the girls' room, it's just hard to tell from the angle of the picture.

The color, layout and bedframe match this older picture of the girls' room when they were packing for Colorado.

Good eye, slickcat. I wonder what they have against closing that closet door (open in both pictures)?

[Guest Anonymous]

I'd say that's the bedroom door, and the two closet doors are closed?

[WonderingInWA]

I'd say that's the bedroom door, and the two closet doors are closed?

That's my guess, too. Two walk-in closets, and the open door is to the hallway. We all know they would NEVER close a bedroom door, right? Too much privacy!

[Guest Anonymous]

Smart of them to think to individually wrap each cookie. It shows, they at least have a clue about the recipients, and the workings of a police station/place of business.

I think that's general portion-control related freakery; they did the same to their own biscuits before they went on holiday in the summer. Personally, I'd keep them in an airtight box or tin, to avoid them going soft.

If they really had a clue, they'd know that police officers might be quite suspicious of receiving home-baked goods and, at the very least, might have other things to do than drive by collecting them on Christmas day. :mrgreen:

[LurkerOverThePond]

The bunk bed seems like a one that you can divide into two normal beds - wonder why they don't do it? It's not that they don't have enough space in that big house designed and built specifically for their purposes. I would have loved to sleep in bunk bed as a kid (on the top, of course!) but I find it hard to believe that a 16/17 year old and a 20 year old would love to sleep in it. Of course, these are the Maxwells so who knows :?

It's quite interesting to see a tiny glimpse into their "private" part of the house. We always only see the kitchen, the dining room, the oh-so-cozy living room and the slave central aka the basement with all the gazillion boxes filled with chore packs. I can't blame them for wanting to keep their bedrooms private - so would I. But it's interesting how just tiny bits of information make these poor souls look more human and even normal: childhood dolls on the counters, a nice quilt on the bed, clothes and a sun visor hanging from the upper bed, even some laundry on the floor... Like their downstairs was their facade, cold and orderly, and the upstairs their true selves, much more personal and even a tiny bit messy. How I wish that would be true about their personal lives...

[ncb]

Glad I wasn't the only one. I understand having them pick stuff up if it's like tons of clothes and toys and stuff, but seriously, a plate or two of cookies? I'm sure the dispatcher was wondering wth?! wondering what was really up, y'know?

They are such hypocrites. They totally would never let their sons be in law enforcement because there is a chance they would have to take orders from a woman. Same reason why they object to many jobs and "encourage" their sons to be self-employed. This is all one big load of PR crap. I am so tired of them.

[clarinetpower]

It kind of sounded to me like the police were protecting themselves--a horde of crazy Jesus-freaks loose in the station? Probably not a good idea.

It's kind of sad, though, that this is all they have to do. Individually wrapping cookies for cops? There are so many more worthwhile things they could be doing--volunteering at the food pantry, building houses for Habitat for Humanity, serving at a homeless shelter, candy striping, working at a women's shelter, joining the Peace Corps, Americorps, or even mission trips out of the country--but no. They individually wrap cookies for the police.

Sigh.

[ILoveJellybeans]

If I was a police officer I wouldnt trust homemade food from strangers, especially as there are people out there who might put something in it cause they dont like them...

[lilith]

So, it looks like the single bed that can be see in both photos, it looks like it is a trundle. Which is weird for a family that never has house guests. Maybe they actually make up the mattress with sheets sometimes so poor Mary doesn't have to climb up to the top bunk to sleep. Can you imagine being her age and sleeping on a bunk bed? Well, and then being Poor Sarah's age and sleeping in the same bedroom as her much younger sisters? Oy.

I slept on a top bunk til I left home - I removed the bottom bunk and put my desk in the space beneath.

But I wasn't sharing the room with my two adult sisters.

[rhianna]

They must have a pretty sleepy town, crime-wise, for the police to take time out to get some cookies.

Only semi-related, but I wish that society in general would move away from "treat" food being so unhealthy. Every time we have a meeting at work, or a birthday or any kind of celebration, it's always pastries, doughnuts, cookies, cake . . .

Although honestly I don't have any super-healthy suggestions to take their place. Fruit cups?

[skrmom]

And was anyone else besides me interested to see that they actually said "for our usual Christmas service for the residents"? They called them RESIDENTS instead of THE ELDERLY.

Hi, Steve!

I used to work in nursing homes and residents is the correct term. While most of the residents are elderly, some are young. We had a lady with Down Syndrome who was in her 20's, another with MS in her 30's, a young man in his 20's with a brain injury.

Most of the residents loved when groups would come and sing for them. The vast majority of those coming to sing were from churches.

[Creaky Mom]

Jeezopeezo, all that to-do over a rather small basket of cookies?

And yes, the byzantine level of planning on how to get the .... pound? .... of cookies to the station seems really over-thought-out, but who am I to say?

Does anybody else see the crazy-eye in one or more of the children [sic] pictured? :( Sadz.

Looks like the light in John's eyes is beginning to go out.

These people all need to be either in school or working.

Baking cookies for the policemen is something a six-year old does. :?

[WonderingInWA]

I used to work in nursing homes and residents is the correct term. While most of the residents are elderly, some are young. We had a lady with Down Syndrome who was in her 20's, another with MS in her 30's, a young man in his 20's with a brain injury.

Most of the residents loved when groups would come and sing for them. The vast majority of those coming to sing were from churches.

Yes, in case you don't know the Maxwell history, they have routinely referred to the residents of their nursing home ministry as "the elderly". Which many of us find offensive. This is the first time we have seen them refer to them as "residents".

My mother is 78 with advanced Alzheimer's and lives in a memory care facility that "some would call" (thanks Sarah!) a nursing home. At 78, I wouldn't call her an "elderly", so it was nice to see them use the word "residents".

[AuntCloud]

Some people just don't photograph well so it doesn't surprise me that the women are much more attractive in person. I'm no stunner but I look downright UGLY in photos. I mean seriously ugly. The last time I had a passport picture taken, the poor girl just kept offering to retake it again and again until I assured her that she could try until the cows came home but it would never get any better. I've also had people not recognize me in photos because I look so different and I've had TSA agents give me the hairy eyeball because I'm not actually the gargoyle I appear to be in my photos. So my sympathies go out to Anna and Teri.

I didn't want to mention this until you brought it up, but I seriously think this mullet does nothing for you. :snooty:

[SisiL78]

Do they have vinyl stick on tile floors in the bedroom? I'm pretty sure that its the cheapo vinyl stick on tiles (I go to Lowes daily at the moment as we're in the middle of a renovation). Either that or ceramic tile floors, which is also a weird choice in the midwest.

Maybe in Florida or some other area that is extremely warm and prone to flooding would have tile floors, but not in their area. It just makes the rooms cold and uninviting. Imagine getting up in the winter time and putting your feet on a cold and miserable floor....

We just tore out very expensive marble floors from our family room (my future MIL who sold us the house is livid) because even in summer the floor was freezing cold. Plus it was extremely slippery even when dry and had a very uninviting and "institutional" feel. In a bedroom any tile, ceramic or vinyl, would just feel wrong.

[lilwriter85]

It kind of sounded to me like the police were protecting themselves--a horde of crazy Jesus-freaks loose in the station? Probably not a good idea.

It's kind of sad, though, that this is all they have to do. Individually wrapping cookies for cops? There are so many more worthwhile things they could be doing--volunteering at the food pantry, building houses for Habitat for Humanity, serving at a homeless shelter, candy striping, working at a women's shelter, joining the Peace Corps, Americorps, or even mission trips out of the country--but no. They individually wrap cookies for the police.

Sigh.

I agree they could be doing those things. The Maxwell women do a lot of sewing work. They could be making blankets or similar items for hospitals, shelters, Project Linus, etc. I think Steve and Teri have probably thought about various volunteering opportunities, but they probably find excuses not to do those things. It has been mentioned that Jesse wants to do mission work and that Steve said something like "We'll think about it". Jesse will probably never do mission work. Steve discouraged Christopher from becoming an EMT because of the possibility of a female work partner. I mentioned this in another thread, but a high school classmate of mine has done mission work and from pics she has posted online Stevie would dislike some of the things missionaries sometimes do with the people they are helping. My classmate posted pics of her playing soccer and baseball with kids in Mexico, her and mission friends hang out at concerts, sporting events etc. Steve would hate that stuff.

I also agree with another poster who said they are hypocrites because they would never allow their sons to work in law enforcement. It also reminds me of the Duggars talking about how they appreciate the military and would be proud if one of their sons joined. We all know Boob and Mullet would never let one of their sons join the military.

[lilwriter85]

I used to work in nursing homes and residents is the correct term. While most of the residents are elderly, some are young. We had a lady with Down Syndrome who was in her 20's, another with MS in her 30's, a young man in his 20's with a brain injury.

Most of the residents loved when groups would come and sing for them. The vast majority of those coming to sing were from churches.

A few of friends of mine who have worked/work in nursing homes have also talked about some of the younger residents. Residents is pretty much the best term. I'm not trying to defend the Maxwells, but maybe they aren't any younger residents at the nursing home they hold services at.

[bionicmlle]

Steve's replies to comments are particularly patronizing -- A commenter mentioned that Anna's hair looked nice. Steve's reply? "They often enjoy experimenting" Right. I'm sure it's only daddy-approved "experimentation."

[YPestis]

It's kind of sad, though, that this is all they have to do. Individually wrapping cookies for cops? There are so many more worthwhile things they could be doing--volunteering at the food pantry, building houses for Habitat for Humanity, serving at a homeless shelter, candy striping, working at a women's shelter, joining the Peace Corps, Americorps, or even mission trips out of the country--but no. They individually wrap cookies for the police.

Sigh.

All those things you mention would result in interaction with outsiders. In their "Hearts" books, they often talk about doing family ministry to minimize need for their kids to interact alone with outsiders. Steve and Teri fear any outsider influence on their kids. I think that's why they stick to doing their own ministry work rather than join an organized effort. The nursing home and homeless shelter ministry is a group thing, so the kids aren't left "alone" or with peers, plus there's no one doing the work with them so no interaction and possible friendships struck up. The Maxwells make an idol out of "family time" and they've taken sheltering to new levels.

For the poster who asked for more nutritious snacks. I suggest roasted or flavored peanuts? There's also peanut butter and banana sandwhiches (some find that disgusting and it's not exactly diet food, but it's nutritious). It's sad that so many snacks we have are so bad for us. Unlike many people on FJ, I don't think the Maxwells are underfed. They may or may not have food control issues, but I don't think they are starving. In fact, based on their baking hobby, they probably eat more baked goods than me. Then again, I'm not a sweets person and I find the vast majority of pastries and cakes disgusting. I think it's nice that the Maxwells will send out baked goods to outsiders, even if they slip in a Jesus message.