It's time for what some would call a vacation!

[OkToBeTakei]

I am SO not WK'ing for the Maxwells, but as a parent & cook just past the feeding toddlers stage, it's possible that the mac & cheese is for the third generation, while the sandwiches are for the Maxwell "children" and adults, or rather, all the adults. It can be hard for little hands to hold full-size burgers and buns, so I could see Mel & NRAnna saying "fuck it, we'll just make a box of Kraft dinner for the babies; we've been chasing them all day and deserve a break."

Or something like that. :D

:naughty: Jesus does not like the little children fed boxed additive ridden shite. Shame on Steve for allowing it. :P

Girl on left looks pregnant to me, maybe? Might just be baby tummy from her last one, hate to speculate incorrectly as my belly took ages to go back to normal. But...

[ThatSnark]

I saw that, too-- in the green, that's Mel, and her shirt is pulling oddly over her midsection in a way that I remember from end-of-first trimester wardrobe issues. We know NRA is expecting, but I wonder with the pregnancy problems Mel has had, that it would be more comfortable to them to not make an internet thing out of a pregnancy until they feel like it's definitely a viable baby.

It's so Maxwell to leave the birthin' wimmins home with the younguns, while the elder and unmarrieds get to go on a hike.

[delilahdog11]

It really creeps me out how Steve has to possesively wrap his talons. I mean arms around Terrified in every single pictures. As if blog readers are going to forget that Terrified is owned. I mean married to Steve.

[SPHASH]

I know it's fiction but on The Waltons in the later seasons (World War 2) most of the kids were adults and living at home but they had jobs...either serving overseas (John-Boy, Jason, Ben, Jim-Bob), office job in a factory (Erin), nursing (widowed Mary Ellen with a child), they also could come and go as they pleased. Erin was even planning a vacay to Atlantic City but gave her gas coupons to to Bens wife so she could pick Ben up when he returned from the war. Later on Jason bought a club and got engaged, high school senior Elizabeth went out on dates ALONE, and Jim-bobs girlfriend had a pregnancy scare. In other words they all had a life! John Boy even left the fold to go work in NYC before the war, Mary Ellen married but moved back in after her husband died at Pearl Harbor. But they chose to come back.

[WonderingInWA]

I'll bet there were no burgers. With the big pot behind the buns, I'll bet it was sloppy joe's. Stretches the meat so is more economical. The applesauce and mac and cheese rounds out the meal.

Melanie could be pregnant. There's something about her face that looks different to me. She's either lost a lot of weight or her face is broken out (pregnancy hormones?) or both.

[Lillybee]

I'll bet there were no burgers. With the big pot behind the buns, I'll bet it was sloppy joe's. Stretches the meat so is more economical. The applesauce and mac and cheese rounds out the meal.

Melanie could be pregnant. There's something about her face that looks different to me. She's either lost a lot of weight or her face is broken out (pregnancy hormones?) or both.

It could be some burrito filling served in a different way on burger buns, just to show how wild the Maxwells are getting.

[anjulibai]

Odd. In one of the pics John looks to be wearing pics with detachable pant legs, that, when taken off, make shorts. My husband has had many pairs, so I'm fairly familiar with them, and I'm pretty sure that's what John is wearing. Odd they would buy a pair of pants like that when they can't use them as shorts.

I don't think Melanie is pregnant. They announced early on with Christina that she was pregnant, I don't think they really wait. She does look like she's lost some weight, though.

[lizziesmom]

I don't think its odd that they take the same vacation every year. I know a lot of families who visit the same beach house almost every summer. What I do think is odd is that Sarah (31) posts a picture of her and her siblings and calls them the "children." YOU ARE NOT A CHILD SARAH MAXWELL!!!!!!!!!

I bet most of the families who visit the same beach house don't spend every waking minute together the rest of the year though.

[Justme]

They've always announced Mel's pregnancies pretty quickly before. They "covet" the prayers of their followers.

[Marian the Librarian]

I wonder how normally a life you could have if you excaped from spending the years between about 8 and 31 locked away from the world in a repetitive and dull existence, and sheltered away from knowing what goes on in the world.

This observation, and Poor Sarah's situation, remind me of the book "I Leap Over the Wall," by Monica Baldwin. She spent 28 years in an enclosed convent (basically, the time between the beginning of WWI and the beginning of WWII), then left the Order. The book is a pretty fascinating look at her time as a nun, and the culture shock she experienced with her re-immersion into the world. She was a tough cookie. (Link, for those interested: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monica_Baldwin) If I had to choose between Sarah Maxwell's life and Monica Baldwin's, I'd choose Monica's, hands down.

One would think that most parents, even fundies, want and hope that their children to move on to happy, successful lives of their own. Not ol' Stevehovah, though. Gotta maintain that death grip, at all costs.

[lizziesmom]

I know it's fiction but on The Waltons in the later seasons (World War 2) most of the kids were adults and living at home but they had jobs...either serving overseas (John-Boy, Jason, Ben, Jim-Bob), office job in a factory (Erin), nursing (widowed Mary Ellen with a child), they also could come and go as they pleased. Erin was even planning a vacay to Atlantic City but gave her gas coupons to to Bens wife so she could pick Ben up when he returned from the war. Later on Jason bought a club and got engaged, high school senior Elizabeth went out on dates ALONE, and Jim-bobs girlfriend had a pregnancy scare. In other words they all had a life! John Boy even left the fold to go work in NYC before the war, Mary Ellen married but moved back in after her husband died at Pearl Harbor. But they chose to come back.

Maybe because it was a tv show ..... easier to deal with one set/house. Everyone moved back home in the Cosby family too. I suspect for the same reasons.

[ILoveJellybeans]

This observation, and Poor Sarah's situation, remind me of the book "I Leap Over the Wall," by Monica Baldwin. She spent 28 years in an enclosed convent (basically, the time between the beginning of WWI and the beginning of WWII), then left the Order. The book is a pretty fascinating look at her time as a nun, and the culture shock she experienced with her re-immersion into the world. She was a tough cookie. (Link, for those interested: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monica_Baldwin) If I had to choose between Sarah Maxwell's life and Monica Baldwin's, I'd choose Monica's, hands down.

One would think that most parents, even fundies, want and hope that their children to move on to happy, successful lives of their own. Not ol' Stevehovah, though. Gotta maintain that death grip, at all costs.

Wow, that must have been hard for her. Shes a pretty strong person for getting through all that, it must really be a shock to be isolated from the world for all that time.

I wonder how Sarah would do on her own if she left Maxhell.

[WonderingInWA]

The only thing Sarah knows how to do is write (poorly), take photos, and smile. Oh, I suppose she cleans, too, but there's not a lot of photos of her doing that because she's the one taking the photos. I don't think she cooks, although she bakes. She doesn't sew. Maybe she's a good conversationalist. But whether she could plan and operate on a budget or manage a household (even it was just her own by herself) remains to be seen. I'm pretty sure she's got limited experience there since Stevie has probably always kept those skills from her.

[lizziesmom]

I think it is very unlikely that even though many of the Maxwell's are chronologically adults (like Sarah), they are emotionally and intellectually still children due to their upbringing. I bet they would be unable to cope living on their own.

[ILoveJellybeans]

Wow, Steve really fucked things up.

If the result of your parenting is a child who is emotionally and intellectually a child at age 31, despite not having any actual disabilities, youve done something horribly wrong.

[nokidsmom]

Yeah, I think it's something like this. The Maxwells' followers, by and large, are not deep thinkers [/understatement], so I doubt they spend much time contemplating why all but two of the "kids" are still living and traveling with their parents. If they think about it at all, they probably think that it's so lovely that the adult children have "chosen" to live with and help their parents--what a precious blessing! What an example of the kind of "voluntary" family togetherness Stevie's methods yield! :roll:

They may not even be aware that Sarah is 31. She looks much younger, and it's so unusual for a woman in that subculture to be unmarried at 31 that they probably assume she's in her early 20s. Those who do know her age probably figure that the Lord just hasn't brought the right man into her life yet. They don't think about Stevie's role in all this.

Yeah, I figured that the Maxwell followers arent giving it much thought other than think the "togetherness" in this family is so nice and wonderful. How so very special :roll: And Sarah does look younger, so even if her age is known, it may not strike any followers as odd because it's not as obvious that if she did look her age or older.

Wow, Steve really fucked things up.

If the result of your parenting is a child who is emotionally and intellectually a child at age 31, despite not having any actual disabilities, youve done something horribly wrong.

But he's no doubt convinced that his parenting is a roaring sucess. It's those other parents who actually raise their kids to be independent adults that are getting it wrong. More than horribly wrong, but in "going to hell" wrong. That's pretty scary.

[Hane]

Of course Stevehovah's childrearing is a roaring success! His kids are all still Christian , and nobody is having sex outside of marriage! That about sews it up, as far as he's concerned.

[Peppercorn]

chipmuncks!

:lol: :lol: :lol:

[WonderingInWA]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Johnhugh got away with that on the blog? Seriously?

[MamaJunebug]

One or two of their acolytes called this "a vacation" and so did whichever Maxwell wrote a reply to another follower.

Calling it a vacation. Next up, they'll actually put their naked toes into a lake or stream. No photos, though.

[nelliebelle1197]

Johnhugh got away with that on the blog? Seriously?

JohnHugh gets away with murder on that blog!

[uber frau]

And the sin second to murder on the Pecan Thief's.

[mausi]

Just curious - if they don't call it a 'vacation', what do they call it?

[ThatSnark]

Just curious - if they don't call it a 'vacation', what do they call it?

From the pre-vacation blog post, by Sarah:

We’re excitedly preparing for our trip to Colorado. We’re looking forward to lots of special family times, not only hiking but also in our cabin.

So it's a "trip to Colorado" with "special family times." Elsewhere on the blog it's "time in the mountains." I don't think we've seen "vacation" this year other than in the comments. As with the whole "adventure," it's very confusing. The best I can make of it is that they are doing the same old boring stuff, but with more hiking and a higher altitude.

[ILoveJellybeans]

Its called "Waiting to die, just in a different location"