Colorado with the Moodys

[defraudingjezebel]

I was thinking of Sarah driving on her own on my way home from class last night.

1. Do they purchase cars without radios? So the driver is not tempted to turn on the radio and listen to anything not daddy approved. Because even Christian stations may not be the right kind of Christian and there are 2 Catholic radio stations (that I could quickly find) in the greater Kansas City area.

2. How can you be so brainwashed not to go for ice cream on your own, or go to a library or listen to a radio when you are on your own? I am not even talking about evil things these are things goody-two-shoes in the 1950s would have done on their own or with a friend! (Obviously we don't know if they don't do these things when they are on their own but considering they are to have a partner at all times...)

This family makes me very sad and it makes me want to Gibbs Slap* dad and mom for everything.

 

*Gibbs slap- What Gibbs (played by Mark Harmon) does on NCIS to DiNozzo (played by Michael Weatherly) when DiNozzo does something stupid.

I bet they're totally scared of what it on the radio. Their father has probably told them that Satan tries to lure people through the radio. Any kind of rhetoric like that would certainly scare a kid, and if you're told that for long enough, it probably is engrained into your psyche as an adult too. 

[Trynn]

Maybe Sarah is retiring the Moodys so she can start with a new family?

[bionicmlle]

Maybe Sarah is retiring the Moodys so she can start with a new family?

Like her own?

[SPHASH]

Is it me or does Gigi's house look really decrepit?

[FloraKitty35]

It is a shame the Moody's didn't go to Colorado and open a marijuana dispensary. (After all God created it.)

[nokidsmom]

On the subject of Stockholm Syndrome, I found this gem that has probably been snarled on many moons ago, but it is Steve's perfect summary of how all of this is possible 

"Our girls have chosen not to work outside our home, and they have also chosen to live in our home until marriage. They have made those decisions because of the protection and sheltering they have within our home."

Basically, they made the choice by default because there is no such thing as making choices in their house. 

Right.  And the daughters really think they are making a choice when in reality they are doing exactly what they were brainwashed to do. 

It's like Erin Bates making her choice not to go to public university where she had (per her mother so take it for what it's worth) a scholarship.  There was no choice involved, she was defaulting to what her parents had raised her to make.

[Anonymousguest]

Why wasn't Sarah already included in "Aunties time"? Why did having Aunties time at Anna Maries mean that Sarah wouldn't come visit them? Also it looks like those cookies are way to close together on that pan  and that's the biggest jar of sprinkles I have ever seen! 

 

It seems like publishing the 10 th and final book in a series is a big deal. It's sad that the only people there were family. Our church family is a huge part of our life, any kind of party like that I would have invited our church and family friends. 

[lilith]

On 10/29/2015 at 8:38 PM, Trynn said:

Maybe Sarah is retiring the Moodys so she can start with a new family?

I think she's just run out of titles. If she starts a new series she can call the books "Summer with the Maxoodys", "Summer Days with the Maxoodys" etc.

[Bethella]

I have some ideas for her!

Courting with the Moodys

Death-Wedding with the Moodys, after the wedding you can get

Grandbabies with the Moodys

Summer with the Moodys- A New Generation

Fall with the Moody's- A New Generation

Winter with the Moody's- A New Generation...

[FloraDoraDolly]

...woo, party hard!!

And Nathan knows Sarah's books better than she does, which is weird.  

That's not really weird. Nathan has probably been reading the books to his kids. As a writer myself, I don't remember the names of every minor character in every story.

[CyborgKin]

It is a shame the Moody's didn't go to Colorado and open a marijuana dispensary. (After all God created it.)

Careful there!  God also created legs, and legs can be used for dancing!

Right.  And the daughters really think they are making a choice when in reality they are doing exactly what they were brainwashed to do. 

It's like Erin Bates making her choice not to go to public university where she had (per her mother so take it for what it's worth) a scholarship.  There was no choice involved, she was defaulting to what her parents had raised her to make.

Strangely enough, it was the opposite for me.  I never really decided to go to university, but my parents expected me to so I didn't really make a conscious choice.  I just went along with it, as I have a tendency to do.

I have some ideas for her!

...

Summer with the Moodys- A New Generation

Fall with the Moody's- A New Generation

Winter with the Moody's- A New Generation...

Nah, it should be "The Next Generation".  That opens to door to things like "The Moodys' Emmisary - Deep Space Nine"

[Quiverless]

Like her own?

I wondered that myself. And, why would she be left out of Auntie's play time? That poor girl/woman/daughter is 33, and has no identity away from her family. If she's not an Auntie, and she's done writing, what's left for her? 

[albanuadh_1]

I never got the feeling that Sarah had that much to do with the kids. Perhaps, since she is the photographer, we seldom see a photo of her with the children, except when they are babies.

[Palimpsest]

Sarah is much older than her sisters.   Anna and Mary frequently do things together, like Aunties' playtime, when she is occupied elsewhere.  The family divided into the older 3, Nathan, Christopher and Sarah, and the Reversals long ago.  If you analyze the blog and businesses, John and Joseph were also partnered for activities, but Jesse always seems a bit of an outlier.

Sarah already announced that she was going to start a new series with a different family.  Instead of being modeled on her siblings and their activities, my bet is that the new family will describe her brothers' children.  "Summer with the Cousins" will have chapters like, Playing with the Aunties, Reading Time with Grandma, A New Cousin, Special Bible Time with Grandpa, and Auntie Sally's Surprise Party. 

[Naga Viper]

That's not really weird. Nathan has probably been reading the books to his kids. As a writer myself, I don't remember the names of every minor character in every story.

Maybe, but—and I'm gonna take a wild leap here—I'm guessing you have more going on in your life than dusting ceiling fans and reminding family members to grimace obligatorily whenever you aim a camera in their direction.

I think Palimpsest is dead-on with her predictions for the second series and the Totallynotthemoodys, but Sarah formally ending the first series really opens it up to a fanfic expansion of the original universe and letting the family branch out a bit more:

Chinese New Year with the Moodys

Yom Kippur with the Moodys

Samhain with the Moodys

Cyber Monday with the Moodys

Take Our Daughters to Work Day with the Moodys (not canon)

[anjulibai]

Is it me or does Gigi's house look really decrepit?

Yeah, it didn't look well maintained. You would think they'd have someone over there on a regular basis taking care of her property, especially with 5 adult males around to share the work. 

I also thought it telling that of course they say they serve a widow, but it's their own family member. It just comes off as self-serving to me. It'd be really self-less if they went to some random old person's home to care for their lawn. 

[blessalessi]

Sarah is much older than her sisters.   Anna and Mary frequently do things together, like Aunties' playtime, when she is occupied elsewhere.  The family divided into the older 3, Nathan, Christopher and Sarah, and the Reversals long ago.  If you analyze the blog and businesses, John and Joseph were also partnered for activities, but Jesse always seems a bit of an outlier.

Sarah already announced that she was going to start a new series with a different family.  Instead of being modeled on her siblings and their activities, my bet is that the new family will describe her brothers' children.  "Summer with the Cousins" will have chapters like, Playing with the Aunties, Reading Time with Grandma, A New Cousin, Special Bible Time with Grandpa, and Auntie Sally's Surprise Party. 

I look forward to the one where they celebrate Resurrection Sunday at the Nursing Home, followed by a car trip to the Other Grandpa for an Egg Hunt and Easter Bunny Tea.

[Paperplate]

I'm not sure Sarah is starting a new series. She just said she writing another book. Will it be a children's book? Maybe she'll do something for teenagers next?

[blessalessi]

Yeah, it didn't look well maintained. You would think they'd have someone over there on a regular basis taking care of her property, especially with 5 adult males around to share the work. 

I also thought it telling that of course they say they serve a widow, but it's their own family member. It just comes off as self-serving to me. It'd be really self-less if they went to some random old person's home to care for their lawn. 

Gigi lives across the road, and it was probably just a way of including her in the plans.

Grandpa only died last year, after a long time of suffering Alzheimer's.  The boys went round in turns to dress him and put him to bed, at the time, iirc. But Gigi will have been coming to terms with loss over the last year, she may not have wanted anyone rushing in to renovate the home she shared with her husband long before the Maxhells moved next door.

I don't doubt there will be plans in place for Gigi's house to be a home for Jesse or whoever in future, but I hope Gigi stays with her friends and church family for as long as she is happy there.

I don't see anything inherently wrong in the party either, it is just a shame that this is as good as it gets for Sarah.

[Palimpsest]

I'm not sure Sarah is starting a new series. She just said she writing another book. Will it be a children's book? Maybe she'll do something for teenagers next?

True.  This is what she actually said on Titus 2:  "Rest assured, this doesn’t mean the end of my writing career. The desire to write literally runs through my veins. I love to write. I’m already enthused with the new characters and plot for my next book."

So it will be fiction, not a how-to book.  Sarah only writes about what she knows, even though she knows very little, and completely lacks imagination.  Given her stultifying and badly plotted children's books I cannot imaging her writing YA fiction even for the Maxwell leg-humpers.  Teens will be more critical and Sarah's development has been too stunted.  

Romance novels are totally out because of their corrupting influence on young ladies.  Christian mystery?  No, because Sarah has been so sheltered she doesn't know about crime in the real world.  It would pollute her pure and Godly mind and corrupt others. 

So if it is not another children's book, it must be a novel about how a single woman in her 30s happily lives with her brothers and sisters, and dedicates her life to caring for her aging parents and grandmother, and little nieces and nephews.  Add some preaching about God having other plans for Prince Charming and how middle-aged women* serving at home is still God's will in His infinite perfection and she is done. 

*I don't consider mid-thirties middle-aged, but by Fundie standards Sarah is well past her sell-by date.

Additional thought:  No, Sarah.  The desire to write does not "literally" run through your veins!

[treemom]

 

Additional thought:  No, Sarah.  The desire to write does not "literally" run through your veins!

this made me crazy when I read it.

[LurkerOverThePond]

Nah, it should be "The Next Generation".  That opens to door to things like "The Moodys' Emmisary - Deep Space Nine"

"The Moodys get wasted at Ten Forward".

"The Moodys learn emotions from Data."

"The Moodys visit a Bajoran religious site and ask everyone where they are going after they die."

"Pa Moody and a holodeck surprise with Orion slave girls."

"The Moodys on Risa on what some might call a 'vacation'."

"We. Are. The. Moodys. Resistance is futile."

And the last part of the new Moody series:

"The Moodys disappear in a wormhole."

 

I couldn't resist ('cause resistance IS futile) 

[Paperplate]

[...]

Given her stultifying and badly plotted children's books I cannot imaging her writing YA fiction even for the Maxwell leg-humpers.  Teens will be more critical and Sarah's development has been too stunted.  

[...]

Ah, I didn't think about that. Even Christian teens had a pain threshold when it comes to horrible writing. Seeing that it was going to be fiction, I thought she would do something like the Moodys, but for older kids or young adults. But @Palimpsest you're probably right...

On the other hand: A lot of adult leg-humpers seem to think Sarah's writing is just wonderful.

[nausicaa]

this made me crazy when I read it.

Glad I'm not the only one. Honestly, no one caught that?

I also thought it telling that of course they say they serve a widow, but it's their own family member. It just comes off as self-serving to me. It'd be really self-less if they went to some random old person's home to care for their lawn. 

That was the most tone deaf part of the post for me. It was obvious that they don't know any other widows well enough to help out, and it does come off as self-serving since it's a close family member. Further evidence of their isolation.

As for Sarah's next project, I definitely think Christian mystery is out because those need to be carefully plotted, even the crappy ones. And plotting a mystery is hard, with tons of moving parts. Honestly, I don't think Sarah has the critical thinking skills or the creativity to do it. I'm wondering if her next set of books will be picture books with Mary that are aimed at an even younger demographic?

[Dru]

Maybe, but—and I'm gonna take a wild leap here—I'm guessing you have more going on in your life than dusting ceiling fans and reminding family members to grimace obligatorily whenever you aim a camera in their direction.

I think Palimpsest is dead-on with her predictions for the second series and the Totallynotthemoodys, but Sarah formally ending the first series really opens it up to a fanfic expansion of the original universe and letting the family branch out a bit more:

Chinese New Year with the Moodys

Yom Kippur with the Moodys

Samhain with the Moodys

Cyber Monday with the Moodys

Take Our Daughters to Work Day with the Moodys (not canon)

This cracked me up so hard for some reason.

I look forward to the one where they celebrate Resurrection Sunday at the Nursing Home, followed by a car trip to the Other Grandpa for an Egg Hunt and Easter Bunny Tea.

That's what I was thinking. Also going to pants wearing auntie's nursing school graduation party (with drinking!), firefighter uncle's wedding (with dancing!), visiting country music singing auntie in Nashville. The list goes on. Wow, it's depressing to realize that in some ways little Abby has more diverse experience with people than 30-something Sarah. Steve sucks,