Maxwells doing their Operation Christmas Child crap again

[SPHASH]

I wonder how much of the crap they send gets thrown out.

[Anny Nym]

What, the one with the expired sweets again?

[twin2]

Anna Marie was very faithful to cut out purses.

 

WTF does this mean?

[halcionne]

Anna Marie was very faithful to cut out purses.

 

WTF does this mean?

She cut out pattern pieces that were to be sewn into purses. I don't like the way fundies use the word 'faithful,' but I see it all the time. 

[twin2]

Anna Marie was very faithful to cut out purses.

 

WTF does this mean?

She cut out pattern pieces that were to be sewn into purses. I don't like the way fundies use the word 'faithful,' but I see it all the time. 

I got what she was doing, I just don't get why one would choose that particular adjective to describe they action at hand.  I guess I should be happy Sarah didn't use 'sweet' to describe it.

[anjulibai]

No close up pictures of Lydia and Ruthanne. It's interesting that Chris and Anna's kids were napping while Nathan and Melanie's weren't, despite being the similar ages. And still, Joshua and Ruthanne are in those massive smocks while they eat. Chris and Anna must be super strict. 

Also, that purse looks really simple, like something they'd have you do in an intro to sewing class at Joann's. Wonder why all the fuss about how hard it was to put it together?

Oh, and Sarah, two grammer quibbles:

1) It's sisters-in-law, not sister-in-laws.

2) When you say all the sisters-in-law and nieces were invited, and Elyssa and Calia aren't there, it looks like either you're throwing some shade or don't know the meaning of the word all.

Personally, I wouldn't expect Elyssa to come with less than 2 week old Calia, but I could also see the Maxwells being peeved with her for not answering the summons of the main family. 

[bionicmlle]

Count me confused by those purses. They were following a pattern but they all end up different sizes?  And they spent all morning on it but there are only 11 of them at the end of the half day - with 6 adults working on them (even with 4 sewing machines, that is a bit of a slow project).  I understand if the pattern is a little bit confusing at first - Lord knows I have slogged my way through some ridiculously over-complicated sewing instructions before - but really, Maxwell women?  I expected more.  Perhaps Elissa and Calia didn't end up there for the morning because Elissa couldn't bear to sit through this sewing clusterfuck - remember Elissa's quilting days in 4H?  Seems like girl can sew - maybe she was making her own 11 purses that morning. By herself.

 

And @anjulibai -- you and I must have a similar pet-peeve on multiples of in-laws.  Drives me crazy.  

[notfundy]

One of the captions was  "I can only imagine the joy of the girls who receive these cute purses".  And, yes -  "Ann Marie was very faithful to cut out purses".    WTF?   

Meh.   Not so much.    I've actually been sewing/embroidering a set of Xmas ornaments for my (new one and only) granddaughter so I totally get that it can be fun to do craft projects, especially together. 

But not to be snarky but ....these were rather ugly.

[fundiefan]

Why don't we just post the threads from last year and the year before and the year before....they do everything the same. Even "good works" (which they will scream against) are the same with them. Nevermind the adult children in their parent's home. The real thing with them is....boredom. No life. No experience. No...nothing. Routine, plan, schedule, same...all while posing for photos. 

[halcionne]

I see fundies going on about how faithful the LORD is when he blesses them with something they've been praying hard for. I don't understand this usage at all; is it a biblical phrase? Was Sarah praying hard for another pair of hands on this purse project, making her feel blessed when NR Anna joined in? That's my take, but who really knows.

[SPHASH]

I see fundies going on about how faithful the LORD is when he blesses them with something they've been praying hard for. I don't understand this usage at all; is it a biblical phrase? Was Sarah praying hard for another pair of hands on this purse project, making her feel blessed when NR Anna joined in? That's my take, but who really knows.

Kinda like Teri praying  for a cell phone case.

[rosalitta]

Since everything the Maxwells do must be for Jesus, I suppose anything they do could be described as being done "faithfully."  Sarah faithfully dusted the ceiling fans.  Steve faithfully burped at dinner. And so on

[nausicaa]

Anna Marie was very faithful to cut out purses.

 

WTF does this mean?

She cut out pattern pieces that were to be sewn into purses. I don't like the way fundies use the word 'faithful,' but I see it all the time. 

I got what she was doing, I just don't get why one would choose that particular adjective to describe they action at hand.  I guess I should be happy Sarah didn't use 'sweet' to describe it.

That sentence drives me crazy too. Is she faithful as in diligent in helping the girls all morning, faithful as in loyal to her family and so joining in despite a busy schedule, or is she faithful to the Lord and therefore doing charitable work?

And I like those purses a hell of a lot better than the utter junk they put into the boxes last year. That post seriously pissed me off.  Halloween candy and acrylic mittens for children in tropical countries? God, you suck so hard Maxwells. So friggin' hard. 

[salex]

Where are these gifts sent? Is a small purse a gift for a child in the target countries?

[usmcmom]

I realize this sew-la-palooza took place on a Wednesday, which is when many men are out working at those pesky job things; but since none of the Maxwell men seem to actually HAVE a job, why couldn't the littlest children stay with their fathers??  That way Teri could have been part of the "fun."  I think she'd be overwhelmed watching the little ones alone anyway. 

And, yes, I realize how ridiculous my question is because...wimminz work...but I just had to put it out there. 

 

At at least we saw a glimpse of Lydia. She seems to have lots of blonde hair like Ruthie. Am I remembering correctly that she was born with dark hair? 

[nausicaa]

Where are these gifts sent? Is a small purse a gift for a child in the target countries?

My understanding is that people mostly put silly trinkets into the shoe boxes: crayons, stickers, bouncy balls. So little colorful purses don't seem that off to me. 

[Arete]

Yeah, I actually think a small, colorful cloth purse is a very nice gift for the shoeboxes.  It's the stuff she has bought on sales that are useless and inapropriate.  

[fiery redhead]

Are these purses the only things they send? While it's great to include something like this, I know this ministry requests things like socks, school supplies, and maybe even first aid kits. I will ask my friend. 

Anna Marie was very faithful to cut out purses.

 

WTF does this mean?

She cut out pattern pieces that were to be sewn into purses. I don't like the way fundies use the word 'faithful,' but I see it all the time. 

I got what she was doing, I just don't get why one would choose that particular adjective to describe they action at hand.  I guess I should be happy Sarah didn't use 'sweet' to describe it.

That sentence drives me crazy too. Is she faithful as in diligent in helping the girls all morning, faithful as in loyal to her family and so joining in despite a busy schedule, or is she faithful to the Lord and therefore doing charitable work?

And I like those purses a hell of a lot better than the utter junk they put into the boxes last year. That post seriously pissed me off.  Halloween candy and acrylic mittens for children in tropical countries? God, you suck so hard Maxwells. So friggin' hard. 

Operation Christmas Child asks that candy not be donated. They throw it away immediately.

[Arete]

No.  Anna has bought some Easter candy on clearance, flip flops, and knit caps among other thinks.  I believe that ministry specifically asks that no edibles be sent, how would they know correct shoe sizes, and why send knits when a lot of these children may be living in tropical areas.

Samaritan's Purse lists a lot of cute things on their website that ANY child would be able to play with:   Crayons, coloring books, rubber balls, etc.  The Maxwells probably consider those inappropriate because kids are known to have fun with them.

[jakesykora]

A great post from people who live/work in a place shoeboxes are distributed about what things are great and not so great ideas...

http://garrett.with.sim.org/index.php/archives/1675

[SolomonFundy]

OCC boxes stuffed with last-generation ChorePack software and stale Easter candy? Must be that time of the year, again! The purses were bad enough before Mary laid that "special touch" of glitter paint on them. They went from "meh" to "nursing home physical therapy craft project" pretty fast. 

Also, my conspiratard is showing, but I wonder why the front-facing pictures of Lydia are among the few in the whole thread that can not be opened to a larger size? They make such a point of showing off the kids, but Lydia seems to consistently be excluded from the blog photos. Her newborn photos are pretty much the only time she's been shown in any detail, and she was beautiful. I hope that it's just an odd oversight in a family that tries to minimize female children anyway, and not the result of an attempt to hide something that they consider to be a flaw in her appearance. 

 

[Lillybee]

I am surprised at the fabric choices. Some are quite interesting almost hippyish. I would have expected something more beige.

[bionicmlle]

I am surprised at the fabric choices. Some are quite interesting almost hippyish. I would have expected something more beige.

Jo-Ann's had a great price on remnants last week- I got some amazing deals for $0.60-$4.00.  Perhaps this is why?  They were on sale for the bolt price, plus 50% off plus a coupon, in addition.  That might also explain the, uh, variation in the outcome of their pattern.

 

 

ETA: I just realized that my avatar looks like she is menstruating into a glass of wine.  Odd.

[Georgiana]

I think it's pretty clear the Maxwells only do this for themselves.  If they were doing this for others, they might take a moment to consider what other people really need.  But no.  This is about the Maxwells.  Giving what THEY want to give so that THEY can look like good people and THEY can feel good about themselves and better than everyone else. They remind me of the people from the latest episode of South Park who start and attend a charity gala just so they can look good and feel better about themselves. #shamelessAmerica

 

 

[Antimony]

Mary needs to stay away from the glitter.

I don't sew much, but this pattern doesn't look impossible -- certainly shouldn't perplex women who do sew quite often as part of their entire life goal of being homemakers!