Maxwell 31: InVESTing in Quality Bible Bindings

[kpmom]

4 hours ago, Odd1Out said:

 Although these kids from large families are probably in need of some undivided attention, it needs to be more than a card game and more Bible time. 

Yes, I agree, the undivided attention is probably nice for each kid.  Maybe especially for the older girls who are probably already "helping" with child care.

But a really nice treat would be taking each of them out even for just ice cream or dessert.  The younger families probably don't go out to eat much due to finances so it would be a special treat to go out I would guess.

[usmcmom]

1 hour ago, courtlylove said:

Or something my grandkids love, 'build your own pizza'. Store bought or home made pizza bases and a range of toppings.

No no no. Christopher does an annual pizza night with his kids. We can’t have that activity duplicated on ANY schedule in the compound.  ?

Too much pizza building could lead to a love of cooking, aka a hobby, aka fun and fun is of the devil, ya know. Also most people love pizza so we can’t allow godly young people to eat it often lest it turn into a “favorite food.” I am pretty sure favorite foods are of the devil too. 

[courtlylove]

2 minutes ago, usmcmom said:

No no no. Christopher does an annual pizza night with his kids. We can’t have that activity duplicated on ANY schedule in the compound.  ?

Too much pizza building could lead to a love of cooking, aka a hobby, aka fun and fun is of the devil, ya know. Also most people love pizza so we can’t allow godly young people to eat it often lest it turn into a “favorite food.” I am pretty sure favorite foods are of the devil too. 

Arrrhhhggg - of course. Taking myself to the prayer closet ... 

[MamaJunebug]

1 hour ago, courtlylove said:

Or something my grandkids love, 'build your own pizza'. Store bought or home made pizza bases and a range of toppings.

[mock outrage follows:]

Are you joking!? There’s no spreadsheet to tell how much of the various toppings should be purchased and then how much of each will be consumed! and left over!! consumed! You can’t seriously be suggesting  Terifying  make up a NEW one?  The woman has depression, fer goodness sakes!!

[end mock outrage]

[NeckPunch]

I think the birthday evenings are a nice tradition. Sure it would be great if they did something SPECIAL but these are the Maxwells we are talking about. Uno and bible time is about as wild as they get.

 

Side note: Terri's hair colour is GORGEOUS (2nd photo in the post). Her grey highlights look amazing at the moment.

[anachronistic]

I wonder, given that the grandchildren are exposed to people outside of the cult, how long it will take any of them to realize that Steve and Ofsteve are different than most people. I certainly never noticed my grandmothers rampant alcoholism growing up - I just thought that some old people went to bed really early and took a lot of naps.

So far, the kids in my life have started to notice that I’m different, and when appropriate, I give explanations- ‘Aunt A is autistic. Her brain works differently so she/I needs more downtime and likes to eat plain foods.’ But that’s because I want the kids I know and love to know and love the true me, in all my disabled, gay glory, and know that there is nothing wrong with being different. All the Maxgrands might learn about differences is that anyone not like Steve is bad, and that differences are not tolerated.

For people who claim to abhor waste, the Maxwells sure do a lot of wasting. They waste money, time, talent.....they waste entire lives. Isn’t that a worse thing than a female wearing pants?

[Giraffe]

This is sad. Normally when I hear people giving kids experience gifts I’m all for it. Way to bring otherwise good “gifts” down, Steve. The whole point of experience gifts are what others have already mentioned - they’re things that are outside of what’s normal. And you taking kids one-on-one to experience the same things they normally do in groups? That’s...not a gift. 

[Ozlsn]

On 7/8/2019 at 7:53 PM, fundiewatch said:

New post up. Steve and Terri are offering their grandkids a special night at the MaxBorg instead of birthday gifts. Terri got right on scheduling. 

My lord this family is dull. 

I kind of hope the kids got an actual gift from their grandparents as well as the quality time, sheesh. It's not that freaking hard to come up with something small that they'll like, and the Borg can't be that badly off that they can't afford it. 

[Cora Persephona]

I agree with all your points, this is cheap and sad. It's also lazy, very, very lazy. They love their grandkids so much that they cannot be bothered to interrupt their boring lives to do something special with/for them. Children are soooo precious, but they should not interrupt Steve and Teri's lives in any way. 

There is no length to which my grandma would not have gone to make me feel special and loved. And not just for my birthday. She would make something special for me each time I visited: food I liked, sweets I liked, anything. She would sit in a hot kitchen in the middle of the summer to make me doughnuts if I even mentioned  that I had wanted some a month before. My grandpa was the soul of kindness, with so much patience and laugher in his voice. He would invent new stories every night to put me to sleep when I was little (and I lived with them until I was six, so that's a lot of stories). They were both such treasures in so many ways I cannot even begin to describe. I wish every child could feel that kind of love.  

 

[HereticHick]

On 7/8/2019 at 12:12 PM, danvillebelle said:

Here Stevehovah, I'll make it really easy for you:

http://www.tripbuzz.com/things-to-do-with-kids/leavenworth-ks

There are 97 things to do on that list.  Surely you can get off your holier-than-thou ass and do a few of them.

Thanks to you @danvillebelle TIL that there is a Carousel Museum run by the Leavenworth Historical Society: http://www.firstcitymuseums.org/carousel/  

and carousel rides cost a measly $1.50

Have we ever seen the Maxwell visiting their local carousel museum?  Too much fun and frivolity, I guess

[IReallyAmHopewell]

3 hours ago, HereticHick said:

Thanks to you @danvillebelle TIL that there is a Carousel Museum run by the Leavenworth Historical Society: http://www.firstcitymuseums.org/carousel/  

and carousel rides cost a measly $1.50

Have we ever seen the Maxwell visiting their local carousel museum?  Too much fun and frivolity, I guess

Once the boys have earned and banked the money for their future homes, maybe....but the girls? lol

[johnhugh]

Why could they not just buy a present and have a special one on one time  Stevie Bible Time™?

At least Pool Lady will get a break from the binoculars for an evening....

[SPHASH]

29 minutes ago, johnhugh said:

Why could they not just buy a present and have a special one on one time  Stevie Bible Time™?

At least Pool Lady will get a break from the binoculars for an evening....

I

[FloraKitty35]

I know Halloween is unheard of in Maxwell, but I thought was of the perfect costume for Steve & Teri.  They could dress up as Lord and Lady White Adder (from season 2 of Black Adder).

[kpmom]

On 7/8/2019 at 9:16 PM, NeckPunch said:

 

 

Side note: Terri's hair colour is GORGEOUS (2nd photo in the post). Her grey highlights look amazing at the moment.

Yes, Teri also looks especially nice in the picture at the top of that post.

To me, she's been looking much happier and calmer since her kids have grown up.  I can only imagine she was always on pins and needles when the kids were little and Steve was home and underfoot. 

[nelliebelle1197]

On 7/8/2019 at 12:12 PM, Black Aliss said:

I'm thinking money is getting a bit tight at Chez Maxwell, what with the band breaking up and the bookings having fallen off. Regardless, I'm all for experiences over stuff, but it needs to be a special (not necessarily costly) experience, not something they do at least once a week, year 'round. Are there really no G- or PG-rated movies that Steve and OfSteve would find acceptable? Could they really not ask the birthday child if there is some event or experience that they would like to attend? (rhetorical questions)

Poor Abby. "Your birthday present is dinner with Grandma and Grandpa. At their house."

I don’t think it is money. They would have not mentioned this on the blog. I think it is Steve needing to control again to cover Teri. It’s just like the meatless burrito- he wants to shape the birthday stuff and Teri probably cannot manage, so here is a solution. Plus, go back and read Dad’s corners back in the 90s. His hatred and fear of entertainment of any sort is palatable. I bet the toys and gifts  were too much fun for the kids and I bet Teri’s having a hard time finding Steve approved gifts.

To be honest, Steve seems like the kind of guy who has his financial ducks in a row.

I actually do not think this is a terrible thing. With so many siblings and cousins, I would bet each kid is getting very little time to be an individual. This does provide a venue for it to just be Abby or Lydia getting all the attention. That is not a bad thing.

[danvillebelle]

21 hours ago, Cora Persephona said:

She would sit in a hot kitchen in the middle of the summer to make me doughnuts if I even mentioned  that I had wanted some a month before.

You reminded me of a funny story.  My Nana (paternal gma) was visiting my folks and my brother, before I was born - he must have been about 3.  My mom and dad were going to bed around 11 pm when they heard rustling in the kitchen.  My dad went out to see what was going on and found Nana in the kitchen slicing potatoes and heating oil on the stove, and my brother sitting there grinning like a Cheshire cat.  "Mother, what in the world are you doing?"  "He said he wanted french fries, so I'm making him some."  ❤️ That woman could. not. give. enough. to her family. ❤️

[nvmbr02]

To me, it would be different if the grandkids were coming over and the whole day was about them, doing all their favorite things and having all their favorite foods, And then some sort of special activity together, whether that is making a craft, baking something special for desert, building something fun, whatever the kids picks.  And maybe that is pretty much what they are doing and poor wording and bad pictures just make it look boring. But i doubt it. I think it is far more likely it is as dull as it looks. I hope the kids don't realize how boring it is at least. 

[IReallyAmHopewell]

2 hours ago, nelliebelle1197 said:

 

To be honest, Steve seems like the kind of guy who has his financial ducks in a row. 

 

 

Did he RETIRE from the USAF? I know it's not huge money, but a military pension + Social Security (if he had a job/paid in after USAF), a paid off house. Possible investments or 401(k). They are likely doing fine. Let's remember they were able to pay cash for a bus and keep it gassed up and all. That wasn't cheap.

[Ticklish]

I like the idea of them having a special day with each child for their birthday instead of gifts. I wish my mother would do this, instead of complaining that I don't give her enough gift ideas for my children- who have just about every toy known to man. Having said that, I do think that special time as a birthday gift is ultimately pointless unless effort is made to make it special. It doesn't have to be a big deal, but one on one time and going for ice cream or to a park or baking a dessert together, etc would make it different from the average day at their grandparents. Maybe that would be considered too fun and cannot be allowed. Poor kids. 

[FaithAndReason]

On 7/8/2019 at 9:52 PM, anachronistic said:

I wonder, given that the grandchildren are exposed to people outside of the cult, how long it will take any of them to realize that Steve and Ofsteve are different than most people. I certainly never noticed my grandmothers rampant alcoholism growing up - I just thought that some old people went to bed really early and took a lot of naps.

So far, the kids in my life have started to notice that I’m different, and when appropriate, I give explanations- ‘Aunt A is autistic. Her brain works differently so she/I needs more downtime and likes to eat plain foods.’ But that’s because I want the kids I know and love to know and love the true me, in all my disabled, gay glory, and know that there is nothing wrong with being different. All the Maxgrands might learn about differences is that anyone not like Steve is bad, and that differences are not tolerated.

For people who claim to abhor waste, the Maxwells sure do a lot of wasting. They waste money, time, talent.....they waste entire lives. Isn’t that a worse thing than a female wearing pants?

Don’t be ridiculous! There is NOTHING worse than a female wearing pants! ?

[sparkles]

2 hours ago, nelliebelle1197 said:

Go back and read Dad’s corners back in the 90s. His hatred and fear of entertainment of any sort is palatable. I bet the toys and gifts  were too much fun for the kids and I bet Teri’s having a hard time finding Steve approved gifts.

https://articles.titus2.com/worthwhile-toys-or-should-it-be-tools/

Given their criteria for what makes a worthwhile toy or activity, I think that well ran dry a long time ago.  This passage alone particular speaks volumes. 

They have enjoyed parental sheltering even in the toys they are allowed to play with. While some would mock such choices, we are watching pure, wholesome, delightful children grow into the same kinds of adults. Appetites are developed in childhood. Consider well what appetites the toys you are giving to your children fuel within them.

 

Edited July 10, 2019 by sparkles

[mango_fandango]

Second post about scripture memory for kids. Looks like they’re particpating in the National Bible Bee summer study. Beginner level starts at age 5 so Ruthanne is eligible. Joshua is seven now so is technically eligible for the competition itself. 

[HerNameIsBuffy]

11 minutes ago, sparkles said:

Appetites are developed in childhood. Consider well what appetites the toys you are giving to your children fuel within them.

Really, Steve?  My kids had a toy vaccum cleaner and the Lord has not laid it upon the hearts of even one of them to use the real one without being asked.

 

3 minutes ago, mango_fandango said:

Second post about scripture memory for kids. Looks like they’re particpating in the National Bible Bee summer study. Beginner level starts at age 5 so Ruthanne is eligible. Joshua is seven now so is technically eligible for the competition itself. 

In the nightmare that was Awana we had to memorize verses, yet there was never time for my questions about what they meant.

the only thing I rememeber was in memorizing the books of the Bible Joshua, Judges, Ruth because the order made Joshua sound like an ass.  Who was he to judge her? 

[SPHASH]

So Stud John got a drill for Christmas when he was seven?  Now we know what Josh will get for Christmas cuz he is seven now.  Yes the grands are going into the Bible Bee business.  Gotta keep up with the Bontragers ya know.