Muncks: am I missing something?

[Four is Enough]

I just spent a good bit of time reading the Munck family blog... is it me or do these people seem almost normal? What am I missing?

[thoughtful]

I've never looked at their blog, so I don't know how fundie-like they are, at this point.

I think the piece you may be missing (not that I'm assuming that you don't know this, just that it may not have registered as the only reason they were FJ-worthy) is that we started discussing them because their daughter was engaged to Joseph Maxwell for a while. Without that, I doubt anyone here would even have noticed them.

Having noticed them, I guess some folks are still following their blog and posting here about them, interested in whether they'd continue down the fundie path, or come back to their senses. :D

There's more in the archives:

viewforum.php?f=218

[MamaJunebug]

BTW, they have a new name to their blog, which no longer has the annoying word "quiver" in it:

walkingajourney.com/

They had FUN on amusement park rides. They rejoice that their son who needed lots of dental work can now eat sticky, chewy, hard foods because his orthodontia and oral surgeries are over! (Bean burritos would've been no problem, after all.)

They show photos of the three littlest girls who are giggling spontaneously and their little underwears show and they are not legging underwears!

I think all we are missing about the Muncks is what they, themselves, shuffled off; to wit, the attempt to Maxwellize themselves.

I will always have a soft spot in my cold old heart for the parents who really listened to their panicking daughter and acceded to her pleas to call off the wedding to a quiverfull princeling, days before the event, no less!!!

Also, they make their livings as dog groomers and small farmers, as opposed to presenting informercials shilling books with bad advice.

They tried the Maxhell life. They quit it. Good for them. (PS, IIRC they tried it at all because Pops Munck had a close call with death by cancer, which caused them to rethink life, as so often is the case.)

U-turns *are* allowed! 8-)

[NotALoserLikeYou]

Agree with everything you said, MamaJunebug! I feel like they really take their kids feelings and wants into consideration. The girls want to wear jeans? Ok. You don't want to marry this douche? We can cancel! Everyone seems genuinely happy and cared for. They're family inclusive without being scared of the outside world. Their kids will turn out the better for it.

[thoughtful]

BTW, they have a new name to their blog, which no longer has the annoying word "quiver" in it:

walkingajourney.com/

Thanks for sharing that -- seems like a good sign!

I think all we are missing about the Muncks is what they, themselves, shuffled off; to wit, the attempt to Maxwellize themselves.

The OP said she was missing something, which, with the rest of the post, I interpreted to mean she didn't know why we were discussing them, since they didn't seem like fundies.

I agree that the U-turn and path away from Maxhell is worth discussing, too.

[WonderingInWA]

Yep, and they just posted that they are attending a new church, so that must mean they saw a reason to leave the old one.

I'm glad to read that Amanda (Munck) and her husband are expecting. Married over a year, no wedding night baby which is refreshing.

I wish Elizabeth had a guy on the horizon. And maybe she does, they just aren't talking about it yet.

[silverspoons]

There used to be a blog by the 3 oldest Munck daughters but it has been removed(most likely due to inactivity and marriage not trying to hid anything). In that blog Liz talked about watching full house and reading some classic books. Too bad it is gone.

From the Mom's blog:

One blog entry I found interesting is when Mama Munck goes to a homeschool conference and Michelle Duggar is there. Mama Munck had never heard of the Duggars!

Another part of the blog few talk about is how sick Jonathan is. If you go back you will see he had had so many surgeries and has a feeding tube till this day. Also remember Liz is Jonathan caretaker. I have always wondered if this will make her delay marriage longer.

I do wonder what made the move and downsizing happen. 8 years ago they were all a jean wearing typical large christain family. Then they went towards Steve a bit and now they have decided to live a remote simple lifestyle. While any step away from Steve is good, I'm not convinced that they are not trying to shelter the kids. I know they go to Dollywood and Disneyland but on a day to day basis the kids have no tv , no internet, no real outside friends on the farm.

I hope Mama Munck farm house gets finished and we can see how they now live. I also miss the theme tree and birthday party themes. I think seeing their new house inside and if they are still having the same type of family parties , we will see if they are becoming less conservative.

[MamaJunebug]

. ....

Another part of the blog few talk about is how sick Jonathan is. If you go back you will see he had had so many surgeries and has a feeding tube till this day. Also remember Liz is Jonathan caretaker. I have always wondered if this will make her delay marriage longer.

[\quote]

Heya hiya .... are you sure about Jonathan's health? He's the one I referenced above who now can eat anything since his orthodontic work is done. He appears to have Down Syndrome.... Are we talking about the same dude?

[LaLele]

Heya hiya .... are you sure about Jonathan's health? He's the one I referenced above who now can eat anything since his orthodontic work is done. He appears to have Down Syndrome.... Are we talking about the same dude?

Not saying that he does or doesn't have a tube, but many people have g or ng tubes and still eat some by mouth. I have treated kiddos who eat mostly by mouth but still need that boost of nutrition by tube to make their minimum calorie requirement. Eating can be tough work for some people and the tube gives them a break/safety net when they need it.

[MamaJunebug]

Thanks, LaLele, you taught me something today!

It strikes me as very Michelle-Duggarish that an older sister - and not the mother - would be in charge of a sibling's special need, especially like a nasogastric tube. But then Elizabeth is a grown woman and I don't know how long it's been her responsibility.

[silverspoons]

Heya hiya .... are you sure about Jonathan's health? He's the one I referenced above who now can eat anything since his orthodontic work is done. He appears to have Down Syndrome.... Are we talking about the same dude?

Every October Mama Munck tries to do lots of DS posts for awareness. There is a lot of info on Jonathan's condition in 2008. There are pictures of the an IV pole in the boys bedroom and a bag drips at night for him to get his food. I'm not sure how much of his food is by mouth and how much is via his tube. It seems as if it has been an ongoing issue from birth. He also wears a CPAP mask at night. I know there is an entry on March 26, 2010 and he still has the feeding tube and having issues, I know there are more current posts but not as many so it takes longer to find.

[nokidsmom]

One thing this family has shown: not all fundie parents are jerks who will push marriage on a child because that's what's supposed to happen or to save face and avoid a broken engagement / courtship at all costs.

[floridiot]

One thing this family has shown: not all fundie parents are jerks who will push marriage on a child because that's what's supposed to happen or to save face and avoid a broken engagement / courtship at all costs.

Agreed. The Muncks the only fundie family I've ever seen where all the children have genuine smiles in all the pictures. They really look like a typical happy family. The Arndts are a close 2nd in the real smile versus fake smile department but they're so unbelievably weird they're in a completely separate category from the Muncks (or anyone else for that matter). I think the Muncks' encounter with Maxhell really did a number on the parents and showed them how scary the fundie life can be and what NOT to do to your kids. Good for them. :clap:

[nokidsmom]

Agreed. The Muncks the only fundie family I've ever seen where all the children have genuine smiles in all the pictures. They really look like a typical happy family. The Arndts are a close 2nd in the real smile versus fake smile department but they're so unbelievably weird they're in a completely separate category from the Muncks (or anyone else for that matter). I think the Muncks' encounter with Maxhell really did a number on the parents and showed them how scary the fundie life can be and what NOT to do to your kids. Good for them. :clap:

To the bolded: I have long thought that the period during Liz and Joe's engagement was a very eye-opening experience for them. They were enamored of the Maxwells while moving into fundieland, because from the outside, the Maxwells can look like this very happy, godly family and something for fundie-wannabes to aspire to. They had no idea of what was hiding behind the curtain until the engagement and then they got to see the control and the crazy. Probably over wedding planning and it was probably wasn't anything earth shaking in our view but Steveovah likes things just so and anything that doesn't go to plan upsets him, this been observed by FJ'ers attending conferences. So I can imagine that even minor glitches or anything that wouldn't have his complete approval or control would have set him off and they were all like :wtf:

[whoviana]

Wow, they dropped the word "quiver" :o They still have chosen a few of those "path, journey, walking along, road" clichés tho'... how original.

[Jana814]

One thing this family has shown: not all fundie parents are jerks who will push marriage on a child because that's what's supposed to happen or to save face and avoid a broken engagement / courtship at all costs.

Got that right!!

[Dru]

There used to be a blog by the 3 oldest Munck daughters but it has been removed(most likely due to inactivity and marriage not trying to hid anything). In that blog Liz talked about watching full house and reading some classic books. Too bad it is gone.

From the Mom's blog:

One blog entry I found interesting is when Mama Munck goes to a homeschool conference and Michelle Duggar is there. Mama Munck had never heard of the Duggars!

Another part of the blog few talk about is how sick Jonathan is. If you go back you will see he had had so many surgeries and has a feeding tube till this day. Also remember Liz is Jonathan caretaker. I have always wondered if this will make her delay marriage longer.

I do wonder what made the move and downsizing happen. 8 years ago they were all a jean wearing typical large christain family. Then they went towards Steve a bit and now they have decided to live a remote simple lifestyle. While any step away from Steve is good, I'm not convinced that they are not trying to shelter the kids. I know they go to Dollywood and Disneyland but on a day to day basis the kids have no tv , no internet, no real outside friends on the farm.

I hope Mama Munck farm house gets finished and we can see how they now live. I also miss the theme tree and birthday party themes. I think seeing their new house inside and if they are still having the same type of family parties , we will see if they are becoming less conservative.

I think they do have a TV since they have DVDs and give them as gifts to the children. I suppose they may watch them on the computer. Also Elizabeth has both a twitter account and a photo blog so the kids do have Internet access.

[kpmom]

I thought the Muncks showed some open mindedness regarding some of the comments Elizabeth got after the breakup.

There were several that mentioned they were worried about Elizabeth marrying a man she really didn't know, and that the breakup was probably for the best, if painful.

The Maxwells would never, ever, ever let such comments through on their blog.