What's Going On in Maxhell? A Whole Lotta Nothing, Pt. 2

[sparkles]

2 hours ago, crawfishgirl said:

Interesting that Joseph and Elissa weren't there.  They don't seem to be featured in the blog as often as the other "extended" family members.  Wonder if they are slowly breaking away from Maxhell?  Seems like Elissa may be just what Joseph needed.

Of course, it's pure speculation but I think of all the Maxwell men, Joseph's the one who has the most exposure to the great diversity that's out there in the real world. If that webdev conference he attended, where he was a speaker, was anything to go by, he's interacting with all flavors of people, including LGBTQs, in places where his brand of evangelizing would most definitely not be welcomed. Not that I think he'd ever make a clean break, but could (and should) be a major eyeopener for him. Holy crap, the world really isn't as black-and-white, good-and-evil as Daddy said!

[mango_fandango]

1 hour ago, sparkles said:

Of course, it's pure speculation but I think of all the Maxwell men, Joseph's the one who has the most exposure to the great diversity that's out there in the real world. If that webdev conference he attended, where he was a speaker, was anything to go by, he's interacting with all flavors of people, including LGBTQs, in places where his brand of evangelizing would most definitely not be welcomed. Not that I think he'd ever make a clean break, but could (and should) be a major eyeopener for him. Holy crap, the world really isn't as black-and-white, good-and-evil as Daddy said!

Elissa is probably ok with the fundie life, but I reckon she's more of a Melanie than an NR Anna. We don't know much about Elissa, precisely because she's in so few posts. Sure, Calia's always in a huge headband, but all fundie girls are. Plus she doesn't wear frumpers like NR Anna. 

(Autocorrect changed 'frumpers' to 'crumpets' hee hee)

[Dandruff]

"The Friday before the 4th, the girls and nieces had a planning meeting."

GMAFB

[FloraDoraDolly]

2 hours ago, mango_fandango said:

Elissa is probably ok with the fundie life, but I reckon she's more of a Melanie than an NR Anna. We don't know much about Elissa, precisely because she's in so few posts. Sure, Calia's always in a huge headband, but all fundie girls are. Plus she doesn't wear frumpers like NR Anna. 

(Autocorrect changed 'frumpers' to 'crumpets' hee hee)

I see the headbands on so many babies that I don't necessarily equate that with "fundie" or even "fundie lite." It seems to be more or less a "white people" thing, since I've never seen one of those headbands on a black or Asian baby (unless the baby has a white mom).

[Coconut Flan]

I think the majority of white appearing moms don't mess with the headbands either. 

[johnhugh]

I wonder how many of these what some would call 'fun' days or the work days (clean NR Anna's house, Aunties park etc) are actually instigated by Cook-Anna and Artist-Mary? or does Little Duck Sarah  order them to do them put them in their schedules? It's just that a FJ member who went to one of their conferences a few years back stated that Sarah very much ordered the reversals around quite a bit. Which correlates with Sarah largely bringing them up, whilst Teri spent the day laying on the bed having time with the Lord whilst drinking liters of Pepsi. So Sarah being in the background is therefore her just checking up on them, taking a few pictures for the blog then going back to playing with the dog all day. Something to think about....

Mel and Nate's son was wearing shorts! is this a first? Or with Melanie's hair getting shorter by the day, are they a lot more 'lite' when at home and just put the long skirts on etc  for Stevie and the blog

 

[anjulibai]

Drew has been shown in shorts many times. His clothes are pretty typical little boy clothes, in comparison to Joshua who is a little Christopher, for the most part. 

I doubt the ABC girls are wearing pants at home, but they do get away with wearing more tunic type tops over leggings, something I doubt Ruthanne and Lydia will ever be allowed to do. 

[kpmom]

14 hours ago, Dandruff said:

"The Friday before the 4th, the girls and nieces had a planning meeting."

GMAFB

And it wouldn't surprise me if they had an "after action" meeting too.

[mango_fandango]

5 hours ago, anjulibai said:

Drew has been shown in shorts many times. His clothes are pretty typical little boy clothes, in comparison to Joshua who is a little Christopher, for the most part. 

I doubt the ABC girls are wearing pants at home, but they do get away with wearing more tunic type tops over leggings, something I doubt Ruthanne and Lydia will ever be allowed to do. 

And the hairstyles for the girls too. Bethany and Tina have always had bobs. Abby's always had long hair, apart from that time she had a bob. It could be personal preference (hard to comprehend for a Maxwell I know!!) In the post about 15 years of Tits 2, Anna (who would've been about seven?) had a very short bob. Ruthie already has quite longish hair- I don't see her sporting a bob when she's older, given that NR Anna has long hair. I foresee Ruthie and Lydia always in frumpers, or at least ankle-length dresses.

[RoseWilder]

17 hours ago, Dandruff said:

"The Friday before the 4th, the girls and nieces had a planning meeting."

GMAFB

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't they use the same menu every year?

What is there to plan when you do the same thing every year.

"Okay, ladies, let's get this meeting started.  So we're doing the exact same thing we did last year. Yes. Great. Meeting adjourned."

What the heck do they need a meeting for? 

[Coconut Flan]

You have to remember how long it took them to get the lettuce fiasco straight.

[Palimpsest]

21 hours ago, sparkles said:

Of course, it's pure speculation but I think of all the Maxwell men, Joseph's the one who has the most exposure to the great diversity that's out there in the real world. If that webdev conference he attended, where he was a speaker, was anything to go by, he's interacting with all flavors of people, including LGBTQs, in places where his brand of evangelizing would most definitely not be welcomed. Not that I think he'd ever make a clean break, but could (and should) be a major eyeopener for him. Holy crap, the world really isn't as black-and-white, good-and-evil as Daddy said!

I'd say the most likely to make a break are Joseph and John.  Together.  Perhaps they are just waiting until John finds himself a submissive wife.  Like you, I don't think they will dump their faith, but they may stray a little from the suffocating Church of Steve.  Those two really do seem to have been able to pursue their interests, unlike the "girls."  They also worked together on Maxwell Construction, although we could never find evidence of their building anything.

Jesse is a total nonentity so far but, unlike most of the rest of you, I think Nathan and Christopher are pretty much Steve clones, Melanie's short hair and the way the kids dress not withstanding.

Nathan has worked outside the Borg but he was responsible for many of their bright ideas like proselytizing at the County Fair and the Homeless Men's Mission, I wonder what happened to that.  He is not moving away from Steve's ideas as far as I can see.  I think he is still under thrall.

54 minutes ago, RoseWilder said:

What is there to plan when you do the same thing every year.

Planning = indoctrinating the youngsters into looking at last year's list of food and the list of things that went wrong, checking the pantry, and remembering to put lettuce on the shopping list.

Oops. @Coconut Flan got there first.

[LurkerOverThePond]

Baking has clearly become their idol.

[FloraKitty35]

Maybe, I am giving Nathan too much credit, I feel like I see some passive aggressive little swipes at Stevhovah.  (for example Nathan & Melanie spending time with Melanie's family, photos of the ABC girls in tunics and leggings and not frumpers.)  I know Nathan is a fully indoctrinated Maxwell, but he also should have the most memory of what life was like before the journey down the rabbit hole took off.

[Dandruff]

5 hours ago, kpmom said:

And it wouldn't surprise me if they had an "after action" meeting too.

With meeting minutes for both.

[silverspoons]

11 hours ago, anjulibai said:

Drew has been shown in shorts many times. His clothes are pretty typical little boy clothes, in comparison to Joshua who is a little Christopher, for the most part. 

I doubt the ABC girls are wearing pants at home, but they do get away with wearing more tunic type tops over leggings, something I doubt Ruthanne and Lydia will ever be allowed to do. 

Melanie's girls wear lots of older Gymboree including many of the non-denim long skirts. I wonder if she thrift shops or does yard sales? The clothes are usually at least 5 years old (I know because my daughter had many of the same clothes in 2006-2010).

 

I wonder if Elissa gets to travel home more and we just do not hear about it? Her parents had a pretty big house and land if I remember correctly so hopefully she gets to spend lots of time back home. I know their home is debt free but what is Joseph doing to pay the recurring costs? and all the other expenses? It really doesn't seem like photography and this IT business can support so many households even with no house payment.

This Christmas in July, were neighbors invited or just family. It seems liked a lot of work for a big reveal for what, 5 people?

[sparkles]

I'm really not sure what the purpose of this Christmas in July thing was. So they had a special dinner and presentation to raise funds for Operation Christmas Child but they only invited family. And they were surprised that they met their goal (whatever it was)? Because, what? They're gonna say no? Big whoop. I'd be impressed if they took it outside the family but there was nothing about this event—dinner and praying—to set it apart from any other Maxwell gathering. Everything in Maxhell is much ado about nothing.

Quote

I wonder if Elissa gets to travel home more and we just do not hear about it? Her parents had a pretty big house and land if I remember correctly so hopefully she gets to spend lots of time back home. I know their home is debt free but what is Joseph doing to pay the recurring costs? and all the other expenses? It really doesn't seem like photography and this IT business can support so many households even with no house payment.

Joseph seems to be moving Swift Otter out of the Maxwellian Jesus-y bubble. He's attending and speaking at conferences, working with mainstream businesses and there's nary a mention of the Good Person Test or Where Will You Go When You Die to be found. Unlike Christopher and John, who appear to be all over the place business-wise, it looks like Joseph's focussing his efforts on Swift Otter. He could definitely be very successful at it, certainly enough to live comfortably. I don't know if Swift Otter falls under the Communications Concepts umbrella, but he does seem like the head honcho.

[Rosie]

3 hours ago, LurkerOverThePond said:

Baking has clearly become their idol.

If you are not allowed to drink alcohol, or socialize with anyone outside the family, and if the ceiling fans and kitchen cabinets are sparkling clean, pretty much all that's left to do is bake.  Even in 100 degree heat in Kansas.

[fundiefan]

1 hour ago, sparkles said:

I'm really not sure what the purpose of this Christmas in July thing was. So they had a special dinner and presentation to raise funds for Operation Christmas Child but they only invited family  relatives. And they were surprised that they met their goal (whatever it was)? Because, what? They're gonna say no? Big whoop. I'd be impressed if they took it outside the family but there was nothing about this event—dinner and praying—to set it apart from any other Maxwell gathering. Everything in Maxhell is much ado about nothing.

Joseph seems to be moving Swift Otter out of the Maxwellian Jesus-y bubble. He's attending and speaking at conferences, working with mainstream businesses and there's nary a mention of the Good Person Test or Where Will You Go When You Die to be found. Unlike Christopher and John, who appear to be all over the place business-wise, it looks like Joseph's focussing his efforts on Swift Otter. He could definitely be very successful at it, certainly enough to live comfortably. I don't know if Swift Otter falls under the Communications Concepts umbrella, but he does seem like the head honcho.

Never, ever refer to a married kidlet as family. They are now and forever relatives.

[mango_fandango]

19 minutes ago, fundiefan said:

Never, ever refer to a married kidlet as family. They are now and forever relatives.

Extended family, perhaps.

Also, in that post about Snugars and Gracious May, Calia was wearing a sleeveless dress. With no t shirt underneath. She did have a fricking ENORMOUS pink headband on... but then again that's what she was advertising. 

[MamaJunebug]

On July 18, 2016 at 6:51 PM, FloraDoraDolly said:

I see the headbands on so many babies that I don't necessarily equate that with "fundie" or even "fundie lite." It seems to be more or less a "white people" thing, since I've never seen one of those headbands on a black or Asian baby (unless the baby has a white mom).

Ohhhhh wait just a teeny weeny minute there!!

i just teased a friend of African descent about the humongo-bow she had on her infant daughter!  "She doesn't need decoration, she's perfect!" , I said.

My friend replied cheerfully, "That's just the icing on the beautiful cake!"

 

ETA what I originally came here about: my heart sank at the thought of Ellie being attacked by a pack. I'm glad with you all that Sarah was offered escape by drivers, and that those people turned out to be truly benevolent.  

 

Question: what do y'all think of Sarah's plan to pack pepper spray against future dangers from attacking animals?  I'm just thinking ahead to when the weather cools and I start walking the Junedogs again.  We have t had trouble before, but neither had Ellie & Poor Sarah!

 

 

[Rear Window]

I'm confused about Operation Shoe Box. They invited family and relatives over to give money. Aren't these the same people that usually buy the junk/contribute to this? I guess they have to rely on family and relatives because I'm sure the neighbors have shut the door in their faces. I know I would. 

[FundieFarmer]

Ohhhhh wait just a teeny weeny minute there!!

i just teased a friend of African descent about the humongo-bow she had on her infant daughter!  "She doesn't need decoration, she's perfect!" , I said.

My friend replied cheerfully, "That's just the icing on the beautiful cake!"

 

ETA what I originally came here about: my heart sank at the thought of Ellie being attacked by a pack. I'm glad with you all that Sarah was offered escape by drivers, and that those people turned out to be truly benevolent.  

 

Question: what do y'all think of Sarah's plan to pack pepper spray against future dangers from attacking animals?  I'm just thinking ahead to when the weather cools and I start walking the Junedogs again.  We have t had trouble before, but neither had Ellie & Poor Sarah!

 

 

I've never done it in this situation, because I don't like the plan. Having used it before, it releases in a cloud, not a direct stream, so it's a perfect way to mace my own dog and myself in the middle of it...rendering me a lot less capable of dealing with any aftermath as I'm there howling about my eyes and skin and making me either incapable of logical decisions or decisions at all, depending on the hit I took. Plus I'd dread the damage it would do to my own poor girl.

There are a lot more effective ways to deal with dog attacks. In fact, I've found a swift kick to be one of them. Not recommended but...it worked in the moment!

[Coconut Flan]

1 hour ago, MamaJunebug said:

Question: what do y'all think of Sarah's plan to pack pepper spray against future dangers from attacking animals?  I'm just thinking ahead to when the weather cools and I start walking the Junedogs again.  We have t had trouble before, but neither had Ellie & Poor Sarah!

I recommend a stick like a cane or broom handle.  Way back when the first wee baby flan was still in a stroller a rather nasty doberman lunged for her.  Thankfully a carried a cut off broom handle.  I cracked the dog over the head and saved both of us.  I normally don't recommend hitting animals, but if it's choice of my daughter and a vicious dog, dog is going to lose. 

[Bethella]

@MamaJunebug I liked @Palimpsest's suggestion earlier in the thread. Although I've carried pepper spray when in the backwoods in case of bears and cougars.

On 7/13/2016 at 11:13 AM, Palimpsest said:

I found a telescopic spring-loaded umbrella very useful in the past when we lived in the big city.  Desensitize your own dogs to it first, of course, but springing it open in an aggressive dog's face can scare the shit out of the dog and it also acts as a defensive barrier.