Happy 13th Peter Arndt

[miffy]

Happy Birthday Peter. 13 by Earth standards, probably about 1 or 2 by Arndt standards.

I wonder how long it takes for an Arndt to reach maturity? 40 years? 50 years? 100 years? I wonder if they are from a different planet, inhabited by people who look somewhat human like but live for a thousand years, spending the first 100 as a child. The parents are actually in their 500's.

The Arndts age in Galápagos tortoise years, but they don't have the same lifespan.

[already hungover]

One of Peter's birthday presents was a "giant bubble kit". Fun, but the kid is 13...

[miffy]

One of Peter's birthday presents was a "giant bubble kit". Fun, but the kid is 13...

I love bubbles, last year the local supermarket was selling bubble wands at the self serve checkouts. I bought one, I saw others in their 20s pick them up while I was in line & then I found one in my parents kitchen at christmas (aged 59 & 62 :lol: ). But its not something that your average 13yr old would admit to playing with or want when they are a teenager & want 'grown up' things like a stereo & clothes.

[Mama Mia]

I love bubbles, last year the local supermarket was selling bubble wands at the self serve checkouts. I bought one, I saw others in their 20s pick them up while I was in line & then I found one in my parents kitchen at christmas (aged 59 & 62 :lol: ). But its not something that your average 13yr old would admit to playing with or want when they are a teenager & want 'grown up' things like a stereo & clothes.

Personally, I think the giant bubble kit is a whole lot healthier than the 'grown up' things I enjoyed at that age.

And I think it's nice when a teen doesn't hide liking things like bubbles. It isn't that they like toys and silly things that I find strange, it's that that seems to be the only thing going on for them even when they are far into adulthood.

If even one or two of the older ones had found a fellow play/life partner I would think they were just quirky, but the odds that all of them still want to be single at this point seem very slim. And it seems they are too socially isolated to make any connections.

[Markie]

It would be nice if one of the older brothers hooked up with the ex-fiance of Christopher Maxwell - Sara. She seems to be quirky and enjoys fun (and girl needs to get away from Gothard). I bet she would love going out to baseball games and playing baseball. The only think is, the Arndt guys would have to get out and socialize and meet her. Sara, and any other Godly woman, will not magically "pop" into their lives.

Back to original post, Peter likes bubbles. Cool, but a bit odd, and he is lucky he is homeschooled. We never hear of the Arndt children having friends over. Surely thay have enough males to dominate a Boy Scout Troop, but they don't appear to be affiliated with BS either.

[nelliebelle1197]

Do they go to church? Like a church that you have to drive to, in a big building, with other non alien life forms?

[Mary C Doates]

I love bubbles, last year the local supermarket was selling bubble wands at the self serve checkouts. I bought one, I saw others in their 20s pick them up while I was in line & then I found one in my parents kitchen at christmas (aged 59 & 62 :lol: ). But its not something that your average 13yr old would admit to playing with or want when they are a teenager & want 'grown up' things like a stereo & clothes.

I don't think the Arndt offspring are encouraged to want things that are more age-appropriate. The parents seem completely vested in keeping them as infantilized as possible. Maybe it's the parents' way of denying their own aging? Kathy certainly seems to think she's a 14 year old, what with the outfits and the hairstyle.

[salex]

Do they go to church? Like a church that you have to drive to, in a big building, with other non alien life forms?

Nope, Dad home churches them. .famteam.com/sahchurch/

The Safe At Home Christian Fellowship is a non-denominational Christian community that has as its gathering place a meeting room that is physically connected to the Arndt family house. The services are accessible to the general public via the Live Webcasts section of the website. During these services/live webcasts, listeners are invited to submit prayer requests, "praise reports," etc., by means of a dedicated e-mail address.

Later on the page

Of course, ministry, in its truest sense, cannot be contained within the bounds of a service, a public event, a TV show, or a webcast; for our family, the call to bring the love of Jesus to others spills over into every facet of life. For example, our court reporting/legal video business brings us, on a daily basis, into law firms, courthouses, medical buildings, factories -- in fact, any location where people can be found! Of course, we are often on the road, traveling into other areas of the country, either for work assignments or during family trips. (Mark visited 41 different states last year!) During these journeys, we often have the opportunity to encounter and connect with people whom God's Spirit has placed randomly into our paths.

So, they are out, they just have been taught that they are only "Safe at home" ?

Curiouser and curiouser!

[GeoBQn]

"Safe At Home" makes me think of the George Carlin routine about the differences between football and baseball.

And finally, the objectives of the two games are completely different:

In football the object is for the quarterback, also known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his receivers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.

In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! - I hope I'll be safe at home!

[church_of_dog]

"Safe At Home" makes me think of the George Carlin routine about the differences between football and baseball.

man, miss that guy. :crying-yellow:

[nokidsmom]

What the hell is that round thing on the wall behind them?

Sewer and former fabric store worker chiming in.

It's from a quilt pattern known as folded star. It's made of square or round pieces of fabric folded into triangles and overlapped to form the star pattern. In addition to quilts, it's frequently used for things like potholders, pillows, decorative wall hangings (in this case), etc. That's a pretty large wall hanging made of the pattern.

ETA: did note Mama has the same "all mine" pose. I still believe she's the one who is controlling those kids and as has been pointed out before, it's remarkable that she's managed to extend the childhoods of 10 young men who are legal adults.

[lizziesmom]

Re: Cathy's poses for pictures -- I don't know these people at all but it seems like she poses like that in every picture she is in. Maybe it's some sort of ritual whenever a camera is pointed in her direction. That phoney smile is identical in all of them too.

[ari_belle]

Re: Cathy's poses for pictures -- I don't know these people at all but it seems like she poses like that in every picture she is in. Maybe it's some sort of ritual whenever a camera is pointed in her direction. That phoney smile is identical in all of them too.

Part of what bothers me about it is that it seems so sexual. I see lots of pictures of women doing that type of pose with their man. Heck, I've struck that pose with my boyfriend in some pics. But I would never do that with anyone else.

[wild little fox]

I don't know if this was mentioned in this thread, but momma and poppa discourage the boys from making outside relationships. They cannot even chat with a woman online. They put a stop to it.

[Triplet3]

We never hear of the Arndt children having friends over. Surely thay have enough males to dominate a Boy Scout Troop, but they don't appear to be affiliated with BS either.

I've seen them mention friends on their blog before. The most recent example I can think of is when they had a friend over to play board games. Also, the FJer who knows the Arndt 'boys' in real life (can't rememebr their username, sorry) has said before that they have some real friends.

[wild little fox]

Do they have relationships with their friends or are they casual?

[TheJewAmongUs]

So, they are out, they just have been taught that they are only "Safe at home" ?

Curiouser and curiouser!

On one of their recent YouTube episodes, 6 of them went to Florida, and 3 of them aged 18-22 had never been to an ocean before. We get to see them walking around in matching bathing suits. I don't know how out most of them get to be until they're 30.

[silversurealism]

Part of what bothers me about it is that it seems so sexual. I see lots of pictures of women doing that type of pose with their man. Heck, I've struck that pose with my boyfriend in some pics. But I would never do that with anyone else.

I have never before seen any woman pose like that with someone who wasn't their significant other. It's creepy here, even creepier with adult sons. -cringe-

[ari_belle]

There is some Oedipal shit going on in that house.

[scc12]

This is one of the strangest families I've even seen! The dad almost looks normal,but seeing as he's going along w all the nonsense...well.

Really odd mom....I feel bad for those offspring! She looks like an overgrown teenager w that outfit,hair and goopy lip gloss! Not to even mention the pose she strikes w all of her sons...ick.Just doesn't set right w me.

Are they friends at all w any other fundie families?

[patsymae]

Isn't there a girl in this family? I see her in some big family photos but nothing else.

[Miggy]

Does anyone else wonder whether something happened to mum when she was young? My friends mother was stopped by a man when she was in primary school and he tried to pull her into a car. She fought him off and ran but it scared her so badly it still effects her now, in her 60s. She was very over protective of her children; drove them to and from school everyday, only allowed them to play sports where she could sit and watch, drove them to and from their part time jobs in high school, etc. I wonder whether Cathy Arndt has something similar in her past. I'm not suggesting actual abuse but something that scared her into wanting to keep her children young, at home and "safe".

[already hungover]

Isn't there a girl in this family? I see her in some big family photos but nothing else.

Yes, they have a girl. She's 16 and her name is Mary Elizabeth but the family calls her "Wizzy". Unlike the boys, she doesn't contribute to the blog, doesn't have a public email address, and except for one recent occasion, doesn't play on their softball team, which appears to be a cornerstone of Arndt life. The less cynical side of me says that all of this is because she isn't interested in blogging or softball, but my rational side suggests otherwise.

[JenniferJuniper]

Yes, they have a girl. She's 16 and her name is Mary Elizabeth but the family calls her "Wizzy". Unlike the boys, she doesn't contribute to the blog, doesn't have a public email address, and except for one recent occasion, doesn't play on their softball team, which appears to be a cornerstone of Arndt life. The less cynical side of me says that all of this is because she isn't interested in blogging or softball, but my rational side suggests otherwise.

Wizzie doesn't have a public email address, but neither do her younger brothers. The only ones who do have them are over 18. So it will be interesting to see if they post an address for her in a year and a few months when she crosses that threshold. None of the minor kids blog either.

As for softball, she does play and work out with her brothers. However, they play in a men's league so she is not a member of the team. If they played mixed teams, I think she would be.

Mary Elizabeth is clearly being made into a mini-me of Cathy and I'll be shocked if she's ever allowed to date. She'll probably have to take matters into her own hands if she wants a boyfriend, and as far as we know none of the Arndt kids have ever tried to do that. So it's hard to escape the feeling that she is being groomed not to be a wife and mother, but to replace her own mother someday at the helm of the Arndt homestead. :shock:

All fundies are creepy, but these folks are unique. They aren't overly obsessed with gender roles or modesty, and in some ways it appears to be more of a matriarchal household than it does a patriarchal one. And despite the size of the family, I don't think they're actually Quiverfull as they have no interest in the next generation being an army for God. At this rate there isn't going to be a next generation and the parents seem fine with that, to the point of encouraging it. My guess is that they started off as fundie Catholics (they've since broken away from the Catholic Church. The pope must have pissed Rick off about something) who wanted to show the world how wonderful life can be without birth control or any family planning whatsoever and so they just kept collecting kids.

[truthteller]

Wizzie doesn't have a public email address, but neither do her younger brothers. The only ones who do have them are over 18. So it will be interesting to see if they post an address for her in a year and a few months when she crosses that threshold. None of the minor kids blog either.

As for softball, she does play and work out with her brothers. However, they play in a men's league so she is not a member of the team. If they played mixed teams, I think she would be.

Mary Elizabeth is clearly being made into a mini-me of Cathy and I'll be shocked if she's ever allowed to date. She'll probably have to take matters into her own hands if she wants a boyfriend, and as far as we know none of the Arndt kids have ever tried to do that. So it's hard to escape the feeling that she is being groomed not to be a wife and mother, but to replace her own mother someday at the helm of the Arndt homestead. :shock:

All fundies are creepy, but these folks are unique. They aren't overly obsessed with gender roles or modesty, and in some ways it appears to be more of a matriarchal household than it does a patriarchal one. And despite the size of the family, I don't think they're actually Quiverfull as they have no interest in the next generation being an army for God. At this rate there isn't going to be a next generation and the parents seem fine with that, to the point of encouraging it. My guess is that they started off as fundie Catholics (they've since broken away from the Catholic Church. The pope must have pissed Rick off about something) who wanted to show the world how wonderful life can be without birth control or any family planning whatsoever and so they just kept collecting kids.

Don't you think Kathy Arndt, of all people, would relish being a grandmother? I can't imagine her being OK about having none of these kids ever marrying. At some point you would think even these delusional Arndts must realize something's wrong with all these adult men never having the slightest interest in women. Eventually, embarrassment must set in when the whole world starts asking some very uncomfortable questions about this. Yet, there is no sign of that. Just the same uberchearful smile plastered on her face posing for her picture every freaking day. A normal person would be really conflicted about that and would encourage these guys to get out more.