Baby shower for Elissa + What Some Might Call a Vacation!

[anjulibai]

Oh wow. Thanks for quoting that.

I wonder how the Grandpa and Benny stories came about? I wonder what they were about that Steve considers so foolish?

I guess we know why Sarah's writing is so unimaginative. We've said they had the imagination crushed out of them, and wow, is it ever true.

I wonder how Steve justifies this and yet, at the same time talks about John being such a jokester and keeping everyone laughing? How about John's joke of flying the ring in on a toy helicopter at Elissa and Joseph's wedding rehearsal?

Steve is not logical. He's their link to God, so he doesn't have to justify anything.

I also imagine John is giving a little more leeway these days in order to keep him in the fold.

[Jana814]

Is it possible that they're only freely allowed to talk about Jesus and scheduling? Maybe anything else requires being on schedule or an emergency (except for Steve, of course).

Interesting thought! Being that it's the Maxwell's I sure it's true.

[SPHASH]

So in Maxhell you're only allowed to talk at the dinner table? OK then.

[mango_fandango]

Ugh. No wonder the Maxwells don't associate with others outside of a witnessing context- they talk about nothing other than Jesus. That must be pretty damn boring- how often can you talk about Him? Maybe that's why they hang out with each other all the time, so they can at least go "Oh, how was Drew last night?" "He was good, how was Ruthie?" etc. I suppose stuff like that wouldn't be foolish.

If someone only talks about one thing, they are not a great conversationalist. I also hate the "Making Great Conversationalists" book because in that sample page, there's the example given of that five-year-old Cynthia being talked to by an old woman. In the "bad" example, Cynthia doesn't respond to the lady. In the "good" example, she does. Then:

Impossible for a five-year-old, you say? We want to assure you that it is entirely possible, and through the information in this book, you will learn how to make those kinds of conversations a reality for your children.

UGH! It is NOT because they're a bad conversationalist, it's because they're fucking shy. A lot of five-year-olds would be if talked to by a stranger. Is shyness not allowed? You'd think the quiet type would be welcome in Maxhell.

Let's look at other gems. From the one with the teenager describing his symptoms to the doctor:

At this point, you are wondering what Dr. Grote thinks of your parenting skills when your teenager can’t respond to him any better than this.

Err, no I'm not. I'm sure Dr Grote has seen plenty of teenagers, who've likely responded similarly to him. And I'm not going to even comment on the courtship one, for obvious reasons. Only a relatively small proportion of Christians actually practice courtship. And the Maxwells wonder why that book hasn't sold well... *sigh*

[Odd1Out]

That is extremely sad that he put an end to the kids making up silly stories they enjoyed. What a jerk. And the crap about it not being edifying! Steve is just an uptight prick who can't enjoy silliness and squashed and guilted it out of innocent children.

I hope his adult children wise up and fly the coop. Then he and Terie can live in the non-silly silence the rest of their pathetic lives.

[Eternalbluepearl]

They made up stories and recorded them? How creative! Creativity is sign of intelligence. What parent wouldn't want that? I'd treasure those tapes of little voices being silly. How heart-breaking. I am reminded again that what these Maxwell adults went through in childhood is not normal and not ok.

[jakesykora]

Coming soon to a theatre place of fellowship near (very few of) you...

These are free conferences, and one never knows when we’ll be back out east again. Often, families will make it a great-get-away-from-home trip, stay in hotels, and enjoy like-minded fellowship along with good teaching.

God forbid they use the v word! :lol:

Calling something a GGAFHT is infinitely more enjoyable and edifying, no? :whistle:

Although the conferences are free, it does help us know how many to plan for if you register prior.

Can’t wait to see y’all!

September 18-19th – St. Clairsville, Ohio/Wheeling, West Virginia Area (a little over an hour from Pittsburgh, and less than two hours from Columbus)

September 20th – Morning/Evening Message at Port Washington, Ohio

September 25-26th – Fort Mill, South Carolina/Charlotte, North Carolina

One short week long trip sure looks like minimal demand for the Maxwells!

Oh, and Sarah wants YOU to come!

We’re excited to share with you dates for our two upcoming conferences. We want you [bbs] to come, and we’d love for you to encourage friends to attend as well.

[jakesykora]

Also:

(removed hotlinked photo)

And of course Joseph or one of the kids took the photo :roll:

A very special thank you to Joseph for doing a photo session for us!

God forbid a non-Maxwell do so.

Besides, however would someone outside the family ever realize or be expected to know that they need to capture the most awkward of compositions, paying close attention to the necessary strange distances and groupings, as well as the need to make pairs of siblings look as if they are married? :cray-cray:

:lol:

[Eternalbluepearl]

Do they really not ever say the word "vacation?" :cray-cray:

[jakesykora]

I wonder how the Grandpa and Benny stories came about? I wonder what they were about that Steve considers so foolish?

I guess we know why Sarah's writing is so unimaginative. We've said they had the imagination crushed out of them, and wow, is it ever true.

.

And what he said all but confirmed what many hear have said all along and that the Moody plots are all either directly extremely close adaptations of actual Maxwell family things, or else lifted from those they know well, since Sarah wouldn't be able to come up with something edifying and purposeful yet also creative (by Steve's standards).

Makes that pathetic mess of a book I slogged through by her even more heartbreaking. :|

[Toothfairy]

I truly think Steve hates individuality and wants everyone as robots. Any sign of disobedience means he's not in charge. Gotts make clones of Steveism

[PrairieGirl]

That photo looks strange to me.......I cannot quite put my finger on it. Something about the background looks "off". Like are they actually outside (which I would assume), or is that a backdrop similar to what Walmart or Sears used to use?

Or maybe it's the fact that the Maxwells are in it that makes it odd. Any other family and it would look like a nice, normal photo. I shouldn't blame the innocent background.

[anjulibai]

They are outside, but they are oddly placed within the rode. The curb creates an angle and a border that throws the whole thing off.

[Dru]

That photo looks strange to me.......I cannot quite put my finger on it. Something about the background looks "off". Like are they actually outside (which I would assume), or is that a backdrop similar to what Walmart or Sears used to use?

Or maybe it's the fact that the Maxwells are in it that makes it odd. Any other family and it would look like a nice, normal photo. I shouldn't blame the innocent background.

Yeah, it looks weird to me as well. I think it's just been overworked in Photoshop and Lightroom.

[MamaJunebug]

Yeah, it looks weird to me as well. I think it's just been overworked in Photoshop and Lightroom.

Thank you for that note! It did look like they got a backdrop or 'shopped in a backdrop, and if so, why take the photo on a distracting place in the road?

At first I was complimentary -- they've got Sarah sitting down, no wait! all the daughters are sitting down!!! -- and then the "sibling groups as couples" and oh-SO-boring "symmetrical arrangement of tallest on ends, short in middle, parents in center glared at me.

Again ... who looks at this family and says, "Yeah, I want me some of THAT for my blessings and helpmeet/headship!"????

To answer my own question: "Who" is probably the overwhelmed SAHM homeschooler who's got Scary Teri's family in reverse: 7 John-types and 1 docile Sarah-type!

Change of subject: Ofnathan and Ofchristopher an Ofjoseph and their families did *not* show up in Colorado -- heck of a trip for toddlers, infants and infanticipating if they don't need to make it. I was wrong, and good for them for staying put ... or doing *something* well outside of an 0.6-mile radius of the Mothership Fathership!

[heagleca]

Those look like DPIAR-approved wide stances. ;) Steve looks so much like my employer who is such a nice funny man who treats us all so well and encourages us to have lives outside of work. He could almost be Steve's evil twin.

[blessalessi]

I agree, that one is just so freaking strange. My husband and I talked about names constantly when I was pregnant - and we were 99% sure what we wanted to use!

What do NR Anna and Christopher talk about all day long that they couldn't talk about names without scheduling a time?

NR Anna probably needs to schedule times to talk privately with Chris when she can be sure the Von Trapp Family Singers won't march in from next door, armed with children's toys, cleaning products, or whatever other pretext on which they have managed to get away from Stevus for 1/2 an hour. :lol:

If the Maxhells had all elbowed their way into the Baby Naming Discussion, Christ only knows what the poor little babies would have been called!

[sparkles]

My co-worker, who's a Photoshop expert, says the photo's been composited, which was what I thought when I initially saw it. Look at Anna's left shoulder and you can clearly see an outline. The lighting is also off, the overall image seems flat and compressed and someone got a little heavy with the HDR. It's a very unsettling photo because you know something's not right but you just can't put your finger on it.

[Marian the Librarian]

That photo looks totally faked to me - as if they posed in their living room, then dropped a cutout on top of a stock, cheesy outdoor background. Shades of Sears from the 70s!

[salex]

My co-worker, who's a Photoshop expert, says the photo's been composited, which was what I thought when I initially saw it. Look at Anna's left shoulder and you can clearly see an outline. The lighting is also off, the overall image seems flat and compressed and someone got a little heavy with the HDR. It's a very unsettling photo because you know something's not right but you just can't put your finger on it.

The curbs not being parallel, one side of the street to the other, or natural in any sort of cul de sac or curving roadway sort of way bugs me every time I see the picture.

[slickcat79]

My co-worker, who's a Photoshop expert, says the photo's been composited, which was what I thought when I initially saw it. Look at Anna's left shoulder and you can clearly see an outline. The lighting is also off, the overall image seems flat and compressed and someone got a little heavy with the HDR. It's a very unsettling photo because you know something's not right but you just can't put your finger on it.

I know most of my Maxwell-related thoughts revolve around incredulously asking "WHY?", but why would you need to do all that for a basic family photograph where everyone involved is already present anyway? They have nothing to schedule around, so they could do a photo session at any time in order to get optimal conditions. You shouldn't need more than minor tweaks under those circumstances, even for photos that will be used for professional/promotional purposes :?

[PrairieGirl]

Those look like DPIAR-approved wide stances. ;) Steve looks so much like my employer who is such a nice funny man who treats us all so well and encourages us to have lives outside of work. He could almost be Steve's evil twin.

I would say the opposite......your employer sounds like Steve's good twin.

[blessalessi]

Oh wow. Thanks for quoting that.

I wonder how the Grandpa and Benny stories came about? I wonder what they were about that Steve considers so foolish?

I guess we know why Sarah's writing is so unimaginative. We've said they had the imagination crushed out of them, and wow, is it ever true.

I wonder how Steve justifies this and yet, at the same time talks about John being such a jokester and keeping everyone laughing? How about John's joke of flying the ring in on a toy helicopter at Elissa and Joseph's wedding rehearsal?

Steve must crap himself on a daily basis at John's behaviour, and yet what can he do?

I imagine that "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer" is a motto that Steve adheres to privately. John's ungodly departure from Maxhell could ruin Steve's business in a shot.

Apparently you can't beat every Max child into silent submission, any more than you can beat the love of porn out of a Duggar. :D

[Maggie Mae]

I'm not a fan of staged group photos in the first place. The chairs in the middle of the road bothers me. Why not pose for a more natural family photo and use that? They were JUST IN COLORADO. Why not take the family group shot on a mountain, with nature as the backdrop. God's creation and all that. Why would you choose to stage a photo in the middle of suburbia? For all of their God talk, they really don't seem to be very praising of God or earth or anything.

[Elegant Mess]

The lighting is also off, the overall image seems flat and compressed and someone got a little heavy with the HDR. It's a very unsettling photo because you know something's not right but you just can't put your finger on it.

To the bold: I think we can apply this to more than the latest family photo when it comes to the Maxwells!

Also, why does the photo make them look like three married couples and a singleton?!