Happy Birthday to Stevie Maxwell (and a BIG newsflash)

[Jana814]

Are there any charities or organisations that would help Sarah or other Maxwell kids if they would flee from the crazy? I mean, I don't think they could survive on their own at first without help.

I don't know if the r any charities but think if they really except they might have family that can help.

[nokidsmom]

One thing and I hate to be a downer on this, but in order to flee, they would have to have to realize that there was something seriously wrong with their lives and the problem is Dad, plus get the gumption to do something about it. They are too brainwashed to think that Daddy could ever be wrong, is messed up and doesn't their best interests at heart, only his, but it's masked in biblespeak, fear of hell and death. A huge realization for kids who have been programmed to follow Daddy. Been there and seen it my own family and while it wasn't to the extent of Maxhell, it wields a lot of power over kids raised in that cultish atmosphere.

Treemom telling them their dad has them in a cult was probably the very first time someone told them the way they were living is fucked up. It may signal a start, the seed has to be planted somehow, and in that she did a service, but there's a hell of a lot of brainwashing to overcome.

[twin2]

One thing and I hate to be a downer on this, but in order to flee, they would have to have to realize that there was something seriously wrong with their lives and the problem is Dad, plus get the gumption to do something about it. They are too brainwashed to think that Daddy could ever be wrong, is messed up and doesn't their best interests at heart, only his, but it's masked in biblespeak, fear of hell and death. A huge realization for kids who have been programmed to follow Daddy. Been there and seen it my own family and while it wasn't to the extent of Maxhell, it wields a lot of power over kids raised in that cultish atmosphere.

Treemom telling them their dad has them in a cult was probably the very first time someone told them the way they were living is fucked up. It may signal a start, the seed has to be planted somehow, and in that she did a service, but there's a hell of a lot of brainwashing to overcome.

Yeah, unfortunately, pretty much.

Reminded me of a post either Sarah or Anna did about why they were a SAHD and/or why they didn't go to college and said something along the lines of "my parents have invested so much time protecting me and shielding me from unbiblical worldly influences, why would I risk it?"

[nelliebelle1197]

Yeah, unfortunately, pretty much.

Reminded me of a post either Sarah or Anna did about why they were a SAHD and/or why they didn't go to college and said something along the lines of "my parents have invested so much time protecting me and shielding me from unbiblical worldly influences, why would I risk it?"

That was Anna, when she was "graduated" from home "school". You know, when she finally completed outlining the entire Christian Bible. Anna has a sense of desperation to be that Mary and even Sarah don't. I cannot explain it. I think that janky hair from the fair sealed it for me, but it started when they started posting on her sad cooking skills and menu planning. They were obviously advertising her as wifey material - maybe even for John Marie's benefit. There is just something in the way she smiles now, and poses, that does not sit well with me.

Anyone with the Googlefu skillz know how we can figure out if John Marie has been married off in the last year or so? His frumperlicious family, small business and waist-high pressed jeans seem to fit with Steve so well.

[twin2]

That was Anna, when she was "graduated" from home "school". You know, when she finally completed outlining the entire Christian Bible. Anna has a sense of desperation to be that Mary and even Sarah don't. I cannot explain it. I think that janky hair from the fair sealed it for me, but it started when they started posting on her sad cooking skills and menu planning. They were obviously advertising her as wifey material - maybe even for John Marie's benefit. There is just something in the way she smiles now, and poses, that does not sit well with me.

Anyone with the Googlefu skillz know how we can figure out if John Marie has been married off in the last year or so? His frumperlicious family, small business and waist-high pressed jeans seem to fit with Steve so well.

I wonder if John Marie asked and was denied or if he just gave up. Or maybe neither and just objected to having to go by a new name if he wanted to marry Anna.

[nokidsmom]

I wonder if John Marie asked and was denied or if he just gave up. Or maybe neither and just objected to having to go by a new name if he wanted to marry Anna.

I would not be surprised at all if he asked, he was turned down or just couldn't jump through all of Steveovah's neverending hurdles and finally quit. I have long suspected that Sarah probably had guys who were interested, but again, Steveovah posed such an obstacle that they gave up or were turned down after a lot of trying. And I don't believe for a minute that word doesn't get around in fundie circles over whose dad is more difficult to approach / win over which is probably another reason why Sarah is still single (and for that matter, the Botkinettes). Even the fundie guys will make note of which dad is a fruitcake.

[Coco]

One thing and I hate to be a downer on this, but in order to flee, they would have to have to realize that there was something seriously wrong with their lives and the problem is Dad, plus get the gumption to do something about it. They are too brainwashed to think that Daddy could ever be wrong, is messed up and doesn't their best interests at heart, only his, but it's masked in biblespeak, fear of hell and death. A huge realization for kids who have been programmed to follow Daddy. Been there and seen it my own family and while it wasn't to the extent of Maxhell, it wields a lot of power over kids raised in that cultish atmosphere.

Treemom telling them their dad has them in a cult was probably the very first time someone told them the way they were living is fucked up. It may signal a start, the seed has to be planted somehow, and in that she did a service, but there's a hell of a lot of brainwashing to overcome.

Sadly i think it's going to take a catastrophe for the kids to get free from the brainwashing. i wonder what Steve's arrangements are for when he passes away. Once he's gone they may wake up one day and realize they can't face the world as functioning adults. Of course they might just end up "submitting to the authority" of other church families who believe all the same rules. :|

A crazy transfer of authority like that happened to me when my parents let me get a little apartment on another church family's land. (i was 25 and working full time for a fundie business) The church family neighbors called my parents and told them i was becoming goth (yes they actually said goth) because i would go jogging after work in dark clothes. Totally took me by surprise that they thought that, i was just trying to buy jogging pants that wouldn't show dirt, and hello it does get darker in the evenings, nothing sinister about that lol :roll:

[nokidsmom]

Sadly i think it's going to take a catastrophe for the kids to get free from the brainwashing. i wonder what Steve's arrangements are for when he passes away. Once he's gone they may wake up one day and realize they can't face the world as functioning adults. Of course they might just end up "submitting to the authority" of other church families who believe all the same rules. :|

A crazy transfer of authority like that happened to me when my parents let me get a little apartment on another church family's land. (i was 25 and working full time for a fundie business) The church family neighbors called my parents and told them i was becoming goth (yes they actually said goth) because i would go jogging after work in dark clothes. Totally took me by surprise that they thought that, i was just trying to buy jogging pants that wouldn't show dirt, and hello it does get darker in the evenings, nothing sinister about that lol :roll:

Hey, Coco, that was weird. Goth = dark jogging pants.

I do think that if Steve wasn't around and the family wasn't constantly exposed to him to anymore, they might actually have a chance. Don't think anyone, even one of his sons, can fully replace Steveovah and replicate his crazy, save maybe Christopher. However, Steveovah seems pretty healthy and will probably be around for a while. So it's entirely possible for Sarah to be in her 50s when Steveovah shuffles off the mortal coil. At that point there isn't going to be much for her except to stay in the family home or move in with one of her brothers.

[danvillebelle]

Unrelated, but in church this morning, from my seat in the balcony, I spotted a guy in the second row who was a dead ringer for Nathan Maxwell. My heart stopped for a second while I fumbled for my glasses, slapped them on and then confirmed that it was not him. I mean DEAD RINGER, the hairline, polo and khakis, everything. :pink-shock:

[anjulibai]

It was Anna, after she graduate homeschool. I guess people were asking (on the blog, I presume) what her plans were, so she explained why she wasn't planning on doing anything but live at home.

[Marian the Librarian]

That was Anna, when she was "graduated" from home "school". You know, when she finally completed outlining the entire Christian Bible. Anna has a sense of desperation to be that Mary and even Sarah don't. I cannot explain it. I think that janky hair from the fair sealed it for me, but it started when they started posting on her sad cooking skills and menu planning. They were obviously advertising her as wifey material - maybe even for John Marie's benefit. There is just something in the way she smiles now, and poses, that does not sit well with me.

Anyone with the Googlefu skillz know how we can figure out if John Marie has been married off in the last year or so? His frumperlicious family, small business and waist-high pressed jeans seem to fit with Steve so well.

John-Marie (real name Jonathan Demcak) has a public Facebook page. Based on my perusal of his Friends link, it appears he has a significant other. I'm fairly sure I'm right about this. And if I am, I'm very happy that another young person has escaped a life in Maxhell.

[WonderingInWA]

John-Marie (real name Jonathan Demcak) has a public Facebook page. Based on my perusal of his Friends link, it appears he has a significant other. I'm fairly sure I'm right about this. And if I am, I'm very happy that another young person has escaped a life in Maxhell.

Now, Marian, you are an excellent Librarian -- the best, in fact -- but I just reviewed his friends list and can't seem to find the evidence. Can you give another clue?

ETA: Oh, wait, is it the hairdresser? From Nampa? Hmmm, maybe. She looks WAY opposite of any Maxwell, that's for sure.

[Marian the Librarian]

Now, Marian, you are an excellent Librarian -- the best, in fact -- but I just reviewed his friends list and can't seem to find the evidence. Can you give another clue?

ETA: Oh, wait, is it the hairdresser? From Nampa? Hmmm, maybe. She looks WAY opposite of any Maxwell, that's for sure.

Yep. Look at the pic of her with the ginger-haired guy, then compare to the pic of the Demcaks waving goodbye on the Maxwell blog from July 21, 2013.

[BigSandy]

I think you're right about John-Marie having a special someone. In that picture of him with the hairdresser, someone commented "Wow! It must be officially public!"

Too bad for the Maxwell women, but good for John-Marie!

[salex]

I do think that if Steve wasn't around and the family wasn't constantly exposed to him to anymore, they might actually have a chance. Don't think anyone, even one of his sons, can fully replace Steveovah and replicate his crazy, save maybe Christopher. However, Steveovah seems pretty healthy and will probably be around for a while. So it's entirely possible for Sarah to be in her 50s when Steveovah shuffles off the mortal coil. At that point there isn't going to be much for her except to stay in the family home or move in with one of her brothers.

Actually, she might be more marriageable at 50+ without dad as the gatekeeper than at 35 with Dad standing guard. She would not be the first person, male or female, who didn't get to have their own life until after their parents were dead. I know people who had their first marriage later in life (to a widow or widower) and have happy lives.

The question is, would she want that, by then? or would she be a Kansas version of The New England Nun

public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/nenun.html

[NotALoserLikeYou]

oh my gosh, good find, Marian! I am sure that IS him! And she is so normal looking! Tank top, pink hair, short shorts! wow! Exclamation point!

[WonderingInWA]

Soooo, John Marie has dodged a bullet! Yep, I think he's taken and he won't be a Maxwell. And the fact that his gal is local means the discussion of moving to the compound becomes a non-issue.

Good for him. I hope he's happy. She looks like she doesn't wear frumpers.

Excellent sleuthing, Marian! Once again, our most excellent Librarian!

[nokidsmom]

Actually, she might be more marriageable at 50+ without dad as the gatekeeper than at 35 with Dad standing guard. She would not be the first person, male or female, who didn't get to have their own life until after their parents were dead. I know people who had their first marriage later in life (to a widow or widower) and have happy lives.

The question is, would she want that, by then? or would she be a Kansas version of The New England Nun

To the bolded: I hear you. Me mum's good friend didn't marry until 40 after her parents passed away and she married someone the same age who did the same thing. I just heard of someone that I used to know from my old church who is getting married for the first time at 55. It would be entirely possible that Sarah may have a chance without Daddy around though she might need a couple of years to acclimate to life w/o him and not having to live day to day under his shadow.

It's just she's been sold on the idea of getting married and having her own family. At 50+, having kids herself would be out so would she marry someone with kids already, though they may be grown or close to it, or would she just forget about it entirely because of her age? In short, would she accept simply being a wife but not a mother because in fundieland it's wife and mother.

[Marian the Librarian]

Soooo, John Marie has dodged a bullet! Yep, I think he's taken and he won't be a Maxwell. And the fact that his gal is local means the discussion of moving to the compound becomes a non-issue.

Good for him. I hope he's happy. She looks like she doesn't wear frumpers.

Excellent sleuthing, Marian! Once again, our most excellent Librarian!

Thanks! I've actually been sitting on this info for a little while...I'm not 100% sure that's John-Marie in the Facebook photo, but darned close. (Maybe he has a secret twin! :D ) Also, she looks nice, they look happy, and I respect people's privacy. OTOH, they have put it out on Facebook for all the world to see...do I sound ambivalent? Well, yes and no...

Bottom line, if I am correct - he's found a young woman who knows how to have FUN, and lives in the real world. He owns his own business, and based on the info I've found about him he seems to be a nice kid with a great work ethic. He deserves a normal, happy life. As do the Maxwell offspring. I'm looking at you, Steve. :evil:

[NotALoserLikeYou]

I think it is him. There are other pics of him on the Maxwell site plus he is friends with her and all of her family (and he only has 80 friends). She is one of the few who "likes" his business. They both "like" the same church. It definitely looks like him.

[Jana814]

Interesting ideas of what might happen to Sarah. The fact is that it will very hard for anyone of the six still at home to get married. Cause Steve is just strict on who he will allow into the family.

[WonderingInWA]

It could quite possibly be him (he's got some stubble growth that he didn't have back in the days he was visiting the compound, and ironically, the Maxwell men started doing that sometime after that).

John-Marie's business is based in Homedale which is about 25 miles from Nampa where the hairdresser gal seems to live, so that could certainly make sense they would be in a relationship together.

And oh my, she paints her nails. In wild colors and patterns! Such a heathen!

[MissBitters]

Yay for John-Marie escaping! From previous entries it does look like maybe there was some sort of courting that fell through. He was hanging around the Maxwells too much for something not be happening. My guess is Anna. I wonder how Steve must have reacted when he heard John-Marie had moved on to someone else, especially a woman with a job outside the home.

[anjulibai]

I'm kind of disappointed that John-Marie didn't end up with Anna - I was sure he was hanging around for her. It would have been perhaps the only way out of Maxhell for Anna. I'm beginning to think she's stuck there. She's almost 22, so there is still time, but it's hard to see Steve letting her go.

[Sundaymorning]

I would not be surprised at all if he asked, he was turned down or just couldn't jump through all of Steveovah's neverending hurdles and finally quit. I have long suspected that Sarah probably had guys who were interested, but again, Steveovah posed such an obstacle that they gave up or were turned down after a lot of trying. And I don't believe for a minute that word doesn't get around in fundie circles over whose dad is more difficult to approach / win over which is probably another reason why Sarah is still single (and for that matter, the Botkinettes). Even the fundie guys will make note of which dad is a fruitcake.

Some fathers truly behave like they are the ones a possible suitor should court. And yes, it's very funny how almost all of these families always talk about how important marriage and family and children are, yet deny their own daughters all of this.

I feel very sorry for Sarah and the other daughters, I mean, what are their options? At 31, in fundie land, you are already an old maid. Maybe Sarah could get married to an older widower who has already kids, but other than that, I don't see much possibilities for her to ever escape her father for a very long time. Unless a miracle happens and she leaves her family cult altogether.