Maxhell- Summer with the Maxwells Pt 3

[Palimpsest]

22 hours ago, RoseWilder said:

Oh no, you didn't upset me. I just wanted to know more about your reasons. 

I agree about the missionary stuff. And the orphanage stuff - I read an article once about the negative effect missionaries have on orphanages. 

Does Habitat for Humanity build house in other countries? I don't know anything about it and I assumed they only operated in the U.S. 

I'm glad I didn't upset you.  Some people get very defensive about volunteer activities.

Yes, Habitat is both local and international.  Has been for years.  http://www.habitat.org/where-we-build

 

[SPHASH]

1 hour ago, bertnee said:

I like your version,@sphash!

Thank you!

[fundiefan]

All of my objections to OCC are exactly the reasons the Maxwells support them.

Lure children into their brand of religion with shiny toys (or clowns at the fair or balloons & face painting).

Enticing children whose values you don't know, but also don't care about because they're 'wrong', so you can feel good about spreading your religion. 

[Maggie Mae]

Some (maybe most?) people do Habitat and other "hands on" type volunteer activities because they are expected to volunteer X number of hours (or join a board or go to a gala) as part the unwritten expectations of their job. 

I don't think Habitat is bad, but it's not very effective, beyond letting a bunch of us boring professionals get paid to be outside doing "construction" and giving us a free lunch later. But I do it because I'm told to be there. It's a team building activity that companies can use to say "we donated x number of hours in volunteers" last year at the end of they year. 

Just like I volunteered in high school. I was told to do it and put it on my college applications. I honestly didn't even know that it was a religious thing until I went to the "thank you" breakfast or luncheon that they put on every year. I knew it was kind of weird right away though, as someone was bragging about how "it's the RIGHT way to immigrate" and I'm like "WHHHHHHAAAATTT" and had to bite my tongue about amnesty and female circumcision. 

[lauraloralara]

Just as a quick aside, HFH had a pretty interesting start here in Georgia as the outgrowth of Koinonia Farm, which is/was an interracial Christian commune kind of situation founded back in the 40s. Pretty ahead of its time in many ways. Habitat just donated its entire archive to the University of Georgia a couple years ago... I've thought about latching onto it for a PhD dissertation.

[Coconutwater]

When I worked in finance we did a day of Habitat every year among other charities and we would get extra vacation days or something for participating and it looks good on a resume. I just painted, I know nothing about building a house. 

[mango_fandango]

Another post, about Bethany starting school. Apparently not many of the Maxwell nieces like chocolate, except Bethany. That's definitely a cute little fringe on Tina. Her hair looks darker to me, although this may be just me misremembering what she looks like.

[Coconutwater]

Wow...Anna is Sarah's twin. Unless it's noted I can't tell them apart. 

[PennySycamore]

2 hours ago, lauraloralara said:

Just as a quick aside, HFH had a pretty interesting start here in Georgia as the outgrowth of Koinonia Farm, which is/was an interracial Christian commune kind of situation founded back in the 40s. Pretty ahead of its time in many ways. Habitat just donated its entire archive to the University of Georgia a couple years ago... I've thought about latching onto it for a PhD dissertation.

Koinonia Farm (in particular Clarence Jordan) wrote the Cotton Patch Gospels  which are the gospels re-set in Georgia. I thought they were brilliant when I read them 40 years ago.  Entertaining, too.  Koinonia has had a great influence on the life and works of President Jimmy Carter.

I've got their granola recipe in a cookbook from the Mennonite Central Committee.

[kpmom]

13 hours ago, mango_fandango said:

Another post, about Bethany starting school. Apparently not many of the Maxwell nieces like chocolate, except Bethany. That's definitely a cute little fringe on Tina. Her hair looks darker to me, although this may be just me misremembering what she looks like.

I thought Christina's hair has looked darker lately too.  All Melanie and Nathan's kids are so cute, and Christina is the spitting image of Nathan.  The others favor Melanie I think.

Was that post about Bethany starting school or her birthday?  I assumed Sarah meant it was Bethany's birthday, but honestly, it's worded so strangely ("starting another year") that I'm not sure.

[mango_fandango]

1 hour ago, kpmom said:

I thought Christina's hair has looked darker lately too.  All Melanie and Nathan's kids are so cute, and Christina is the spitting image of Nathan.  The others favor Melanie I think.

Was that post about Bethany starting school or her birthday?  I assumed Sarah meant it was Bethany's birthday, but honestly, it's worded so strangely ("starting another year") that I'm not sure.

It could be either. Because of the last post about beginning the school year it could be that, or- because of the baby photo- it could be a birthday post. Looking back at August 2010, it seems her birthday is August 14th. The two commenters appear to think it's a birthday thing. Yet another example of weirdo phrasing from the weirdo Maxwells.

[fundiefan]

I'll always feel sad for those kids growing up in Maxhell.

And also, as always, their life would make me kill myself.

Their Jesus is freaking weeping and no doubt gave up long ago; even deities cannot handle taking responsibility for cell phone covers and cabinet polishing.

[Black Aliss]

Now all the OCC boxes need are a couple pairs of tube socks and some dental floss to make it a Christmas those kids will never forget.

[Palimpsest]

20 hours ago, lauraloralara said:

Just as a quick aside, HFH had a pretty interesting start here in Georgia as the outgrowth of Koinonia Farm, which is/was an interracial Christian commune kind of situation founded back in the 40s. Pretty ahead of its time in many ways. Habitat just donated its entire archive to the University of Georgia a couple years ago... I've thought about latching onto it for a PhD dissertation.

Oh, do it!  That would be a great dissertation, especially the missionary/evangelizing stuff that most businesses don't think about when they ask employees to volunteer there.    

Habitat has had a few scandals and controversies over the years and not just over cost-effectiveness.  They are doing better over volunteer safety these days, but it took a few accidents and deaths to make them more careful.  One of the problems is that it is just so big these days.

Then there is the Millard Fuller ousting for sexual harassment.  Shades of Bill Gothard, seriously.  He was just a misunderstood hugger, folks.  Women didn't understand he was just cuddly and blew it way out of proportion.  

Except a lot more victims and witnesses came forward.  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18460-2005Mar8.html

[SPHASH]

21 hours ago, mango_fandango said:

Another post, about Bethany starting school. Apparently not many of the Maxwell nieces like chocolate, except Bethany. That's definitely a cute little fringe on Tina. Her hair looks darker to me, although this may be just me misremembering what she looks like.

Thats why I didnt recognize Tina in Steve 65th birthday party post.

[Snarfblatt]

Quote

We Maxwell girls love chocolate, but not many of our nieces are chocolate fans, except for Bethany.

I understand what Sarah is trying to say but the nieces are all Maxwell girls too. In fact the nieces are all actually girls whereas Sarah, Mary and Anna are women. 

Sarah could have said something like "it's funny that none of our nieces except Bethany love chocolate when Mary, Anna and I are crazy about it" or "Mary, Anna and I love chocolate but none of our nieces except Bethany do." 

[kpmom]

New post up.

Now I don't want any snarky comments about the Maxwells spending all day dealing with their wood.  These are holy people ya know!

I guess Ellie is growing up around cameras too, as she has two great pictures looking directly in the camera (and ignoring Steve in one.  Good dog!)

 

 

[SPHASH]

Joe showed up to "save the day" but Nada a pic of him.

[NCLunaLovegoodFan]

New post has Sarah agonizing about their trip to Colorado. She said that they wouldn't go till October due to "several factors," then said that October wouldn't be an option, then goes on to say that they would be leaving this weekend.

I get that people will plan vacations and the dates change and all, but the Maxwells make such a big deal about it.

but I guess with nothing going on in their lives...

[fundiefan]

It seems to me every August, Colorado just isn't going to work out then, pow, one day, god changes everything and guess what, they're going. Again. To the same place to do the same thing. With the same people.

August = Colorado, Maxwells. We know that, you know that, everyone who knows anything about you knows that. Just freaking go on your not a vacation (because only some people would call it that) and get on with it.

Face it, your lives do NOT have twists or turns or surprises. Trying to pretend otherwise is just, well, pathetic.

*** I just had a different thought about this. Maybe, given their isolated world and the way Steve controls everything, the 'surprise' trips every August really ARE a surprise to the adultlets? Because maybe Steve makes it that way. Everyone knows he rules the house and is a cult leader and clearly a master manipulator. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he intentionally plays his family this way. Tells them over and over that "no, it's not going to work out, we are not going on a not a vacation, don't get your hopes up, go clean the ceiling fan. And pray. Maybe god will listen".

Then, just when they're all resigned to not going and continuing to live mundane lives at home, he surprises them! "Hey, guess what? God made it work and now we can go to Colorado! We leave in two days. Pack your bags. Don't stop to think or ask questions, we're in a time crunch, let's get moving".

And, Steve gets to look like the hero (because he made it happen, with a little bit of gods help) and they all adore him and love him and will continue to worship the ground he walks on because "look, daddy loves us so much he worked so hard to fix everything so we can go on a not a vacation and climb mountains with him and feed the chipmunks".

How do they get the same cabin in the same place every single year without reserving it in advance? A lot of places like that work on the system of once you rent it for a week, you 'get' it for that week every year unless you cancel. Then you go back to taking your chances. They have the cabin reserved for the same week in August every. single. freaking. year. Yet, it's a surprise when they go? Every August, god works the same miracle to unexpectedly clear the schedule, free up the cabin, and send the Maxwells off to climb 14ers?

[mango_fandango]

When we've been on holiday in Britain, you tend to get a visitors book where you can write comments, eg recommendations for food, places to go etc. Some people stay in the same place maybe twice, very occasionally three times, and I still remember reading through a visitors book where one family stayed in the same place twenty times. Even if I loved a place, I wouldn't want to stay there that many times. Don't people want to explore different bits of, say, Devon/Somerset/Yorkshire?? Then I remember that some people are incredibly resistant to change. It's quite sad, really. The world has so much to offer and some people don't want to leave their town/county/state. For example Erika Shupe who only seems to have lived in the same smallish area in Washington state. 

[Jana814]

I'm someone to hates change.  I have lived in the same area my whole life.  However, if I was to travel I would want to go to different areas. 

[Four is Enough]

1 hour ago, Jana814 said:

, if I was to travel I would want to go to different areas. 

This is why we own a travel trailer. We like to go different places, but we like our own stuff. Win Win. And we can take the animals with us.

[SPHASH]

Is the whole fam extended damily going or just the immediate family.

 

 

[ladyamylynn]

The yearly Colorado trip gives me flashbacks. We lived in Kansas City and went on a yearly camping trip, but my controlling creep of a dad would always pull a very similar stunt... basically pretending we couldn't go until the last minute until he prayed about it and got God's approval. It's emotional abuse, plain and simple. The few days while he was "deciding" whether or not we deserved to go on the trip were torture. Instead of fun anticipation (which to me is the best part of any vacation) we would sit around in miserable silence trying to be good enough to convince him to let us go. Bastard.