The Maxwells are patronizing/new baby photoshoot

[SPHASH]

Ok the women are homeschooled but according to Stevie a womens only proper place is being a wife and mother.

[sparkles]

And the photos show...LEGS! On girls! The horror, the horror. Some of those bows are ridiculous. You can hardly find the kid's head.

I wonder if the Maxwells know the people who run this company. Seems awfully strange for them to be shilling another product, unless it's some kind of affiliate link and they're making buck off of it.

That photo that Christopher took is god-awful.

[fundiefan]

Why does Christopher over expose every photo? The white is blinding and the kids blend in to the background too much. He's really not a talented photographer.

Personally I hate big flower headbands so there is nothing special about seeing them used yet again in photos of little girls.

The fact that they are made by homeschooled women in the home makes it all ok. Women have to stay home and pretend to be wives, mothers and maids but if they can bring in money while promoting their doctrine, then it's all good. Homeschool is the key word and gives them their greatness.

Also, I looked at some of those stupid headbands. $32 for one. Who the hell spends that kind of money on a photographic prop? How do they justify that, even with the makers being all mighty homeschoolers.

[nelliebelle1197]

Why does Christopher over expose every photo? The white is blinding and the kids blend in to the background too much. He's really not a talented photographer.

Personally I hate big flower headbands so there is nothing special about seeing them used yet again in photos of little girls.

The fact that they are made by homeschooled women in the home makes it all ok. Women have to stay home and pretend to be wives, mothers and maids but if they can bring in money while promoting their doctrine, then it's all good. Homeschool is the key word and gives them their greatness.

Also, I looked at some of those stupid headbands. $32 for one. Who the hell spends that kind of money on a photographic prop? How do they justify that, even with the makers being all mighty homeschoolers.

Ummm... they get them free for promoting the company?

[LurkerOverThePond]

Why does Christopher over expose every photo?

Maybe he wants it to look like a divine light coming straight from the Heaven, because, you know... Heaven's waiting for them after DEATH.

[Justme]

Years ago, they wouldn't allow any suggestion of a woman working, even from her home. It was taboo. Fast forward many years, Stevie has a 32 yo spinster daughter, plus a 22 and 17 yo daughter in the wings. It's got to be hitting him hard in the face that his "girls" may never marry. They've got to change their "homeschool/ministry" business. Anything to keep the $$$ flowing...

P.S. Did you see the LEGWARMERS on that site?! Big flowers on the knees?! :disgust:

[SPHASH]

Years ago, they wouldn't allow any suggestion of a woman working, even from her home. It was taboo. Fast forward many years, Stevie has a 32 yo spinster daughter, plus a 22 and 17 yo daughter in the wings. It's got to be hitting him hard in the face that his "girls" may never marry. They've got to change their "homeschool/ministry" business. Anything to keep the $$$ flowing...

P.S. Did you see the LEGWARMERS on that site?! Big flowers on the knees?! :disgust:

Yeah NR Anna had to give up her soap business when she married Chris.

[danvillebelle]

Ummm... they get them free for promoting the company?

Also, it's not just a photographic prop....little girls wear them all the time, all day every day. Down here in the land of bows and headgear, anyway.

[MamaJunebug]

Oh, nertz. More of them in my general direction -- they're in the Kansas City, Missouri, area with an 816 area code. I need to move to a coast, but I can't afford to live on a coast!!!!

So Christina Maxwell still makes the little scrunched-up-nose smile, Bethany is in the process of having it trained out of her, and Abigail is fully functioning with a plastered-on polite smile that still reaches her eyes. I'd hope that regular contact with their mother's non-cultified family would make them a little more resistant, but heck, the photo was taken by Uncle Christopher and surely on Maxwell turf. Because when are they *not* on Maxwell turf?

The photo does a crap job of showing off the Snugars. BTW, do you suppose that's pronounced "Snoogers"? With one g, the u should really take the "oo" sound. Snugars for boogers, he he he he he yes I am 6. But not an old-before-her-time-Maxwell-6, mind you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :nenner:

[silverspoons]

Those bows are EXPENSIVE! The same type of bows are very popular in my area of Utah. The Maxwells shop at Hobby lobby? I'm no crafting genius but hobby lobby has a whole aisle of do it yourself bows, headband, beanies, that a 5 year old you make, and for cheap! I can't believe they didn't have an auntie's headbands day!

If they didn't want to make bows themselves, there are tons of cheaper, IMO cuter ones on etsy, ebay, and craigslist or even at children's stores. I know the Maxwells like to buy quality over the buy used philosophy but $40 for a bow or hat for a baby or toddler! That is excessive.

[Jezebel]

Years ago, they wouldn't allow any suggestion of a woman working, even from her home. It was taboo. Fast forward many years, Stevie has a 32 yo spinster daughter, plus a 22 and 17 yo daughter in the wings. It's got to be hitting him hard in the face that his "girls" may never marry. They've got to change their "homeschool/ministry" business. Anything to keep the $$$ flowing...

I think you might be onto something, here. I don't see the Maxwell girls rolling out an appropriate home-based business in the immediate future, but their conference dates are dwindling to nothing, and you can't tell me that isn't hurting their bottom line.

Steve and Terri are stuck with so many unmarried adult kids--including a lovely eldest daughter who, if their system worked, would be long since married, with kids of her own. Their boys are generally an attractive bunch, and hard-working, so why haven't the younger ones either married or at least started courting? We can pretty well guess why Joseph's marriage to Elizabeth didn't go as planned, but surely there must be other families as dour and insular as they are?

At any rate, it means they can't write a book about successful courtship and marrying off all those sheltered, homeschooled kids. Their track record is dismal; it would be a joke.

They also can't write a book about living with six grown children at home (when the Lord doesn't see fit to send suitable marriage partners), because there's scarcely any difference between minor children and adult children in MaxHell.

Another potential book that they aren't fit to write is one on caring for aging grandparents within the family. Sure, Terri's parents are next door, but Steve's mother is in a nursing home, and IIRC it's not a short drive to get there. He rarely sees her.

What are they going to write about, then? They need new material to keep the conferences fresh and renew interest in their previous materials (which, these days, have stiff competition). I suspect the conversationalists book was a dud. The Moody books seem to have a small, but devoted following among a certain stripe of fundie/patriarchal Christian homeschooling families, as they have absolutely no objectionable content. If they weren't successful, there wouldn't be eight of them--Steve wouldn't have spent the money to publish more.

So what is the Maxwell family--who are selling an entire lifestyle--going to do, as fewer and fewer people buy it? The girls do have plenty of experience in conducting an internet- and mail-order business; if they turned to selling handcrafted items, that would be the next logical step. They already have an audience, which puts them way ahead of a typical SAHD just starting out. Mary has sewing skills. Anna seems to be the cook, so maybe she could get lessons in soapmaking from Anna Marie. Sarah can keep churning out Moody books.

That may not happen anytime soon, but I think it will gradually happen, with Steve making it clear that these are not independent ventures on the girls' part, and that he's really the one in charge.

[formerlyfundie]

Snugars are made by the Garlands of Grace women, they also have several older SAHDs, the oldest if I remember correctly is around 27. Not surprising the Maxwells would endorse them!

I admit I do love their baby shoe company, gracious May, and have several headbands from GoG, this was prior to their anti catholic rant a while ago. The Snugars headbands are ridiculously overpriced though, and I say that as someone who loves a cute baby headband and buys them other places on etsy etc.

[anjulibai]

The only problem I see with the girls starting small businesses is that the girls aren't allowed to pursue anything they are talented at. What we've seen of Anna's cooking skills is not impressive - I'm not sure where her real talents lie, but she's allowed to pursue cooking because she's mediocre with it. Mary no longer sews, most likely because she's good at it and really enjoys doing it; she can do "art" because she's mediocre at it. The market is already saturated with products from far more talented people, both Christian and non-Christian. Sarah is blah writer, and the only reason her books have been successful are because there's a market for Christian children's literature.

So what sort of businesses could Anna and Mary do? They could do soap-making, learning from NR Anna, but that just seems unlikely to me. Plus, again, saturated market on-line, and they don't go to fairs and farmer's markets, where they could sell their wares.

I know at one point Anna was learning some computer software or html, but she doesn't seem to be doing anything with it. Plus, if there's work for that, it's going to go to Nathan and Christopher (who have wives and children to support) or the reversal boys, because they are supposed to be saving for their future families.

This goes back, again, to the question of if the girls could support themselves if they are unmarried when Steve and Teri die, but to be honest, what are/could they doing right now that could be earning income?

[Coconut Flan]

This goes back, again, to the question of if the girls could support themselves if they are unmarried when Steve and Teri die, but to be honest, what are/could they doing right now that could be earning income?

I'm not sure what they could do, but it would be an excellent plan for all three of the girls to begin a business venture so they'll for sure have some support after Steve is gone.

[anjulibai]

I'm not sure what they could do, but it would be an excellent plan for all three of the girls to begin a business venture so they'll for sure have some support after Steve is gone.

Indeed. Then again, they aren't supposed to have careers, just "earn income", so would the younger girls be willing to start a business if they think they still have a shot at marrying eventually?

[Tangy Bee]

Yeah NR Anna had to give up her soap business when she married Chris.

What..! There's no harm in selling soap. Everyone needs soap. I refuse to believe Chris's growing will survive off of his photography business...which isn't all that great to me. How is he making enough to pay property tax, auto tax, auto insurance, life insurance, food, utilities, etc.? They might have to bring back that soap!

[crawfishgirl]

It's a shame that their home construction business wasn't successful - they could probably do well at flipping houses. That would be a good family business for all of the siblings. They seem to have the skills, as evidenced by projects such as Joseph's new house. There is no reason that the sisters couldn't be just as involved as the brothers - even if they were only allowed to perform the 'lighter' tasks such as painting cabinets, etc., that would be a big savings. They have experience in that, and it would allow them to get more skills than just bookkeeping tasks.

[ShesCrafty]

So Christina Maxwell still makes the little scrunched-up-nose smile, Bethany is in the process of having it trained out of her, and Abigail is fully functioning with a plastered-on polite smile that still reaches her eyes.

I'm glad I'm not the only one that noticed this. I thought I was just imagining it but that picture of all four girls is quite telling. And terrifying :cry:

[Tangy Bee]

I'm glad I'm not the only one that noticed this. I thought I was just imagining it but that picture of all four girls is quite telling. And terrifying :cry:

I call it the "stinky look". The oldest little girl use to smile like that ALL the time. Then all of a sudden she started to smile normal. I liked the stinky look. It seems very genuine for their her age at the time :wink-kitty:

[Sydney Fox]

What..! There's no harm in selling soap. Everyone needs soap. I refuse to believe Chris's growing will survive off of his photography business...which isn't all that great to me. How is he making enough to pay property tax, auto tax, auto insurance, life insurance, food, utilities, etc.? They might have to bring back that soap!

I think she gave up the soap business because she used to make it out of goat's milk. She left the goats in Washington when she married Christopher. Maybe she can establish a herd of goats in the Maxwell backyard. I'm sure they'd enjoy the Aunties' Park. :lol:

[Tangy Bee]

I think she gave up the soap business because she used to make it out of goat's milk. She left the goats in Washington when she married Christopher. Maybe she can establish a herd of goats in the Maxwell backyard. I'm sure they'd enjoy the Aunties' Park. :lol:

Oh! I forgot that. Wonder are farm animals even allowed in their neighborhood. We can only have chickens here.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

It's a shame that their home construction business wasn't successful - they could probably do well at flipping houses. That would be a good family business for all of the siblings. They seem to have the skills, as evidenced by projects such as Joseph's new house. There is no reason that the sisters couldn't be just as involved as the brothers - even if they were only allowed to perform the 'lighter' tasks such as painting cabinets, etc., that would be a big savings. They have experience in that, and it would allow them to get more skills than just bookkeeping tasks.

They could flip houses, they could also rehab houses and keep them, renting them out. They could build up quite the rental empire, with well maintained and nice houses - I know people who support families that way. There's the construction part of the business, the advertising part of the business, and the bookkeeping part of the business, so something for all to be involved in. Plus when your kids need to move out (haha who am I kidding right??) you already have a house in the family can they move into. There are military bases in the area, it's possible they have a family rental market in town.

Anna had to move away from her soap business, but if she wanted, she could set up a new home soap factory there in Leavenworth. I have some relatives who make and sell soap for their living.

HOWEVER, as someone else pointed out already, the soap biz usually involves not only internet sales but also commissions to retail outlets (gotta stump around for those all the time) and VERY importantly, travelling around selling stuff at fairs. That means your local farmer's market EVERY WEEK unless you're out of town for a bigger trip across multiple states, going to every event you can find.

For my relatives, they like the travelling and also get vendor admission to things like Bonnaroo, which they are quite into, but for the Maxwells, that's probably not such an attraction since they're obsessed with the isolating yourself at home thing. Plus they have young kids (my relatives' kids are all adults and moved out by now).

[danvillebelle]

Snugars are made by the Garlands of Grace women, they also have several older SAHDs, the oldest if I remember correctly is around 27. Not surprising the Maxwells would endorse them!

I admit I do love their baby shoe company, gracious May, and have several headbands from GoG, this was prior to their anti catholic rant a while ago. The Snugars headbands are ridiculously overpriced though, and I say that as someone who loves a cute baby headband and buys them other places on etsy etc.

THAT'S why the photos and the graphics and the legwarmers looked so familiar.

I have two cotton coverings from GoG that I wear a lot and I seriously covet their cowls, but so far I can't bring myself to pay for one. They do beautiful work and their packaging is lovely but their prices are still high.

[Coconut Flan]

They need to get something going. The conferences haven't just declined, they've practically stopped. No spring trip this year and only one conference set for summer. They're hinting where they want to go in the fall, but nothing set up as firm yet.

Steve is retirement age and if he'd truly gotten his sons set up in business and his daughters launched (either with a job or married), he and Terri could retire. I think he should be looking at it that way and be fading out and letting all the "children" begin to stand on their own. I'm a terrible heathen that way is I'm sure the way Steve would see it. I see it as making sure the baby birds can fly on their own while I'm still able to catch them if necessary.

[anjulibai]

Abigail, most normal people would see it that way.

But Steve would see it as losing control. Can't have that. Plus, I'm sure the conferences give Steve a massive ego boost. So, no doubt he's loath to give that up.

I do think housing flipping and/or renting flipped houses would be the best business they could do, since they're good at it (well, not so much picking colors, but otherwise).

But for whatever reason, that's out, at least for now.