Maxwell 10: Following the 15 minute schedule and the monthly menu

[formergothardite]

It seems like the nieces are super happy to have the fun aunts back in town. Anna and Mary appear to a be a bright light in their dismal lives. Did they immediately have them babysit after they got home? That does seem like a bit much. Welcome home! Come watch our kids now. 

I think they leave a whole lot out of their blog and John has been working outside the compound. Jesse is growing into quite an attractive young man too. The younger Maxwell sons manage to look less creepy than the older ones. 

[PennySycamore]

It is so fucking weird to be terrified of "isolated" places in airports, but to willingly get into a car with two strange men.  Which is more dangerous?  Sarah, it's the car with two strange men!

[IReallyAmHopewell]

Couldn't help myself. I corrected their lack of possessive in the following sentence:

"I especially delighted in seeing the nieces and nephews pure delight to have their aunts back."

I also gave a link to a grammar lesson and chided them for being a poor witness for homeschooling.

My failing students write more descriptively than the these folks.

[Palimpsest]

15 minutes ago, PennySycamore said:

It is so fucking weird to be terrified of "isolated" places in airports, but to willingly get into a car with two strange men.  Which is more dangerous?  Sarah, it's the car with two strange men!

Well, as it happens, the two nice and not-evil men drove Sarah and Ellie safely home.  

However, had I been the "lady" I would certainly have followed the van to make sure they did drive her straight home!

[catlady]

@IReallyAmHopewell, I saw that too, and it annoyed the hell out of me. Thank you for bringing it to their attention!!

[Lollipopgirl]

So the Aunts are back and babysitting the very next day by the look of it. I would also agree the NR Anna looks as if she's expecting blessing number 5.

[IReallyAmHopewell]

1 hour ago, catlady said:

@IReallyAmHopewell, I saw that too, and it annoyed the hell out of me. Thank you for bringing it to their attention!!

Last time I corrected their grammar they removed my comment. Too bad I don't have a Pepsi to celebrate with.

[freejugar]

I wonder if the abc girls have any contact with Melanie's family. A contact outside the cult would be amazing.

[WonderingInWA]

I agree - NR-Anna looks pregnant.

[sparkles]

Woo boy, I generally don't play the "______ looks pregnant" game, but either NR Anna's knocked up again or her abdominal muscles have hoisted the white flag

It's really nice to see Nate and Mel's kids dressed appropriately for the weather, especially Drew. Have we ever seen a Maxwell in shorts before? Imagine that! Someone showed a little knee and Jesus didn't weep.

[SPHASH]

3 hours ago, freejugar said:

I wonder if the abc girls have any contact with Melanie's family. A contact outside the cult would be amazing.

Wonder Woman Melanie's family was at Tina's baptism, although the kids seemed to hang around Goofy Anna and Scary Mary a lot

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

Spoiler

 

[Jana814]

They could hang on to Mary and Anna because they see them more then Melanie's family. 

[SPHASH]

19 minutes ago, Jana814 said:

They could hang on to Mary and Anna because they see them more then Melanie's family. 

Which is really sad.  I wonder if Grandma Maher even got to hold Benjamin.

[singsingsing]

How old is NR Anna's youngest now?

[FloraDoraDolly]

1 hour ago, Jana814 said:

They could hang on to Mary and Anna because they see them more then Melanie's family. 

It's hard to tell from a few isolated photos. If the kids had spent 75% of the baptism celebration with their mom's side of the family and 25% with the Maxwells, we would only see the Maxwell moments. Their blog pretty much treats the sons' wives' families like non-entities. I just hope the kids haven't been told to stay away from the other aunts because they're not good enough Christians, or any of that kind of bs. Since Nathan was allowed to marry into that family, I'm guessing it's unlikely. But then again, the Maxwells have cranked the crazy way past eleventy since Nate was courting Melanie.

[Granwych]

On ‎7‎/‎18‎/‎2017 at 3:22 AM, Divemaster01 said:

Wow, I didn't even know she had a Goodreads account. I do too. Good find!

But is that really our Sarah??

[nastyhobbitses]

13 hours ago, Coconutwater said:

When I was a child I would go to camp longer than that and not be greeted with a welcome home party! That's normal, I remember calling home and my mom telling me to "go have fun! Don't worry about what's going on here" went off to college and got a "bye! See you at the next break!" They may heave teared up, but I've never seen it. It's the whole make your children grow up philosophy and learn to live on their own...these people...

I've lived in foreign countries and not seen my family in person for upwards of a year, and I never got a welcome like that. Hugs and happiness of course, but never that kind of fanfare. I feel cheated.

[anjulibai]

2 hours ago, singsingsing said:

How old is NR Anna's youngest now?

He just turned a year on the 5th. Anna is certainly due for another pregnancy, but I don't think that picture is necessarily proof. My stomach looks like that almost a year after the birth of my second child - she's had 4 kids, everything down there is probably even more stretched than me. 

[Coconutwater]

2 hours ago, nastyhobbitses said:

I've lived in foreign countries and not seen my family in person for upwards of a year, and I never got a welcome like that. Hugs and happiness of course, but never that kind of fanfare. I feel cheated.

Happiness and a hug here too. When I went to college my dad said "one down, three to go!" Then they left hahaha

[theologygeek]

My jaw dropped when I read Sarah's travel tips.  She's like a child trapped in a woman's body.  Her parents ruined her.  That poor thing is afraid of her own shadow.  What is she going to do when her parents die?  She can't function on her own.  She is going to have to move in with one of her brothers.  They didn't raise the girls to be productive members of society.  I can't relate to any of this.  I'm very outgoing and know a person's whole life story within ten minutes of talking to them.  I have more fun traveling alone than I do traveling with friends and family.  It's hard traveling with other people because everyone has to agree on where to go, where to eat, etc  Sarah has a lot of issues.  She's riddled with anxiety and has to force herself to walk confidently.  And she's afraid of people.  The poor thing is a mess.  They ruined her.

 

[theologygeek]

On 7/15/2017 at 9:44 AM, sparkles said:

You know, given the state of the world today, it's oddly comforting to come back to the Maxwell blog after nearly a year's absence and find that nothing, other than a new offspring or twelve, has changed. Nothing. Lather, rinse, repeat. It's so boring that it's perversely riveting.

And Steve? Swift Otter's chief synergist? Really? Lest you forget, your last name is Maxwell, not Jobs.

We all came out of a FJ absence at the same time.  lol  Sarah's travel tips prompted us to start posting again. 

[Darwinesque]

1 hour ago, theologygeek said:

My jaw dropped when I read Sarah's travel tips.  She's like a child trapped in a woman's body.  Her parents ruined her.  That poor thing is afraid of her own shadow.  What is she going to do when her parents die?  She can't function on her own.  She is going to have to move in with one of her brothers.  They didn't raise the girls to be productive members of society.  I can't relate to any of this.  I'm very outgoing and know a person's whole life story within ten minutes of talking to them.  I have more fun traveling alone than I do traveling with friends and family.  It's hard traveling with other people because everyone has to agree on where to go, where to eat, etc  Sarah has a lot of issues.  She's riddled with anxiety and has to force herself to walk confidently.  And she's afraid of people.  The poor thing is a mess.  They ruined her.

 

Me too. Unbelievable. 

I dropped out of uni and became a flight attendant when I was 20. Best time of my life. Flew the world, had so much fun and freedom. Now I love nothing more than to travel alone and I decided that as I had virtually raised my kids by myself ( love my husband but he's away from home a few days every week since the kids were born), that I would have one week to myself every year. So I get on a plane and travel. I'm going to do it every year for the rest of my life.

For anyone that has anxieties or any special requirements when flying, can I say that as an ex-trolley dolly, that is what we are there for. You get asked so many inane, frustrating, often aggressive questions, that when someone genuinely needs help, whether it be for anxiety, a disability, an unaccompanied minor, a small baby, it makes the job and the flight so much better to be able to help. People rarely ask, but please do. 

[Captain Obvious]

13 hours ago, freejugar said:

I wonder if the abc girls have any contact with Melanie's family. A contact outside the cult would be amazing.

The two families are definitely in contact in some way, but I bet the girls' contact with any cousins their own age is highly monitored.

See for example when one of Melanie's brothers got married a couple of years ago, the girls went to the wedding (and were possibly flower girls too), but in this photo you can see they're still sitting with their parents while all the other kids are dancing/playing on the dance floor. 

[kpmom]

2 hours ago, theologygeek said:

We all came out of a FJ absence at the same time.  lol  Sarah's travel tips prompted us to start posting again. 

Nice to see you again, @theologygeek.  If Sarah's tips got you and @sparkles to start posting again then I guess they were good for something after all!

[theologygeek]

19 hours ago, Lollipopgirl said:

So the Aunts are back and babysitting the very next day by the look of it. I would also agree the NR Anna looks as if she's expecting blessing number 5.

I think they were babysitting that very night.  They had the same clothes on as in the welcome home pics.  That is so selfish.  They should have been considerate and thought that maybe the sisters would want to rest after a long trip.  I wouldn't even ask someone to babysit after they just got home from a trip.  Then you put them on the spot and they don't want to hurt your feelings by saying no.