Maxwell 44: Must We Permit Mephistopheles and Beelzebub to Perform Financial and Performance Audits

[church_of_dog]

On 11/30/2020 at 4:35 AM, Bethy said:

Things I noticed from this edition of Random Life:

If the Maxes think they're social distancing...they're wrong. Meals with so many people, watching N&M's kids so they could have "dinner out" (the pic of them is outside at least...Mel looks exhausted, and we haven't seen her midsection in months...I'm still suspicious) 

Sarah has pierced ears again!?! (I say "again" because in a picture she posted years ago of her as a very young child, she was wearing pants and had pierced ears. Then they got all plain and seemed to completely eschew makeup/jewelry.) I wonder which SIL's influence we can thank for that?

In the pic of N&M's girls playing cards with Teri and the aunts, Bethany and Tina are just sprawling like little kids, skirts notwithstanding. They've got leggings on so it's fine and everything is covered. They look comfortable, and - dare I say - like normal kids playing a card game! Abby is sitting with her feet demurely folded under her like the aunts. So apparently she has reached "the age" where she has to sit and behave like a grownup, and as close in age as they all are, Betsy and Tina won't be far behind, which makes me sad for all of them. I hope, like @Dru was wondering upthread, that this is just what they do to comply when visiting the mothership, and that at home they're all sprawling around in whatever is comfortable. Can I be bold enough to hope that includes pants, and the skirts are just for show at the mothership? Probably not, since they live so close that the mothership can see every move they make...but I can dream, can't I?

In the pic of Anna and her kids delivering what looks like cookies, she's still wearing a cap. Because of the coats I'm guessing it's because it's cold out, though neither of the girls are wearing socks/tights, so it can't be THAT cold. She finished chemo several months ago so I'm sure she's got some hair regrowth going on. I truly hope she's wearing it for her own comfort and not because she feels it's "immodest" to appear without long, flowing hair. If it's the latter, it's going to be years in a turban waiting for her hair to get back to where it was.

In the photo of Teri and Steve outdoors I noticed they were both wearing masks.  At least that's something.

[allyisyourpally5]

Yes! One of Sarah’s lines in a piece about modest clothing and why she wears dresses (written years ago) was “If you can’t do it in a dress, should you be doing it?” 
Hinderingthe girls is the ultimate outcome here, because snow pants are probably the most modest thing anyone can wear.

The only thing worse than that are the Duggar’s fire skirts.

[Bethy]

6 hours ago, allyisyourpally5 said:

Yes! One of Sarah’s lines in a piece about modest clothing and why she wears dresses (written years ago) was “If you can’t do it in a dress, should you be doing it?” 
Hinderingthe girls is the ultimate outcome here, because snow pants are probably the most modest thing anyone can wear.

Ugh...I didn't know the Maxes personally said that. I had read it in other places, from other fundie families.

Not surprised.

12 hours ago, church_of_dog said:

In the photo of Teri and Steve outdoors I noticed they were both wearing masks.  At least that's something.

Yes, but...why are they wearing masks alone in their own driveway? Probably construction masks since they appear to be preparing to cut drywall in that pic. We do know they wear masks in the store at least, from the Costco post. That's something, at least. And I can't tell if that one pic of Steve standing in the driveway with the Reversal Brothers was a socially-distant visit. They all appear to be about six feet apart but of course there's no explanation or context. And again...what's the point of distancing a visit with them and then having a table full of people not from the household, where NO ONE can be wearing masks?

[fundiefan]

Yeah pretty sure they were wearing masks in the driveway because they were working on wood or drywall. There are no masks worn by anyone else at any time. 

Costco still has a mask mandate, so they have no choice as far as that goes. 

The Maxwells seem to think what far too many other people think. That their family - immediate or "relatives"- are exempt from such things. They don't all live in the same house, but for the most part the fact is they may as well and that is good enough for them.  Except for Joseph & Jesse, everyone lives essentially next door to each other. They don't have a technical compound like the Mortons, but they tried. Also, they're good evangelical kristchens and fighting masks like they're poison darts is the thing to do. 

They've distanced themselves from Anna after she came back from chemo in Washington - but, even without COVID, that's highly recommended. They did so because of the cancer, not because of the pandemic. 

Jesse had a maskless wedding in the middle of the first wave - even though they claimed it was smaller because of the pandemic and didn't have a reception - they still went right ahead and did it. 

We know Chelsy goes galivanting back & forth to Iowa & went to family camp and all that crap. Then she comes back to Kansas and is in the homes of everyone else & passing kids back & forth. 

The Maxwells may not be the in your face anti-maskers - they seem to be too scared to actually have an opinion on anything other than bible time/family time - can't be held accountable if you don't actually say anything on your blog -  but they are right along with everyone else in their sub group of anti mask, plandemic, trump is king evangelicals. 

[Bethy]

4 hours ago, fundiefan said:

Jesse had a maskless wedding in the middle of the first wave - even though they claimed it was smaller because of the pandemic and didn't have a reception - they still went right ahead and did it. 

But they couldn't postpone the wedding, see, because they were scheduled to have teh godly seks and that can't just be postponed to some other month or year!

(Given their obsession with scheduling, I don't know how much is about the sex and how much is about the schedule!)

[SPHASH]

Steve is now on a statin drug

[ClareDeLune]

Terri looks so happy with her plate of pie and cream. I'm glad the doctor has talked sense into Steve. How selfish that he has let her eat such a hard diet for so long that she doesn't even need. You'd think he would have insisted she enjoy her food despite his restrictions, if he really was this sacrificial gent he makes himself out to be!

Edited December 4, 2020 by ClareDeLune

[fundiefan]

I will still never understand why Teri had to follow Steve's diet. You can support your partner without doing the exact same thing. In fact, I'd say it's unhealthy if you have to do what your partner does for any reason. Choosing to share life is not living carbon copy lives. 

And, gee, all that obsessive dieting didn't solve his problem. He actually needed science & medicine to get him where he should be. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for doing what you can to live a healthy life. But, I am not for being obsessive about your choices and I am not for dragging your spouse along for the ride. 

I wish they'd take medical advise about masks, distancing and protecting elderly & immunocompromised people in their family. Errr... among their relatives/the married boys & their families; however the hell they refer to them. They don't share a home so these people should not be "having people over" - people from separate households - to the extent they do. In that one Thanksgiving photo the most vulnerable of the Maxwell cult clan are right there - Gigi & Anna. 

[Bethy]

33 minutes ago, fundiefan said:

I will still never understand why Teri had to follow Steve's diet. You can support your partner without doing the exact same thing. In fact, I'd say it's unhealthy if you have to do what your partner does for any reason. Choosing to share life is not living carbon copy lives. 

I can understand not rubbing it in that your partner has to restrict certain things - I had a friend once who had gestational diabetes and would get so upset when her husband would eat McDonald's french fries in front of her because she really wanted them but wasn't allowed to have them at all, and I felt like he could have give up french fries for a couple of months (or just gone through the drive-thru after work and eaten them without her knowing) rather than eating them in front of her. But that was something that was really restrictive for a couple of months. Teri has been following this diet for a couple years now, seemingly to her own detriment. 

[Alisamer]

You know full well if it was TERI who needed the special diet (or one of the girls) Steve would not even think of making his diet identical to hers. He might post something about making modifications to his diet in "support" of them with some Bible verses that don't really apply thrown in, but he wouldn't be strictly following it.

It's all about Steve. Teri is pretty awful herself, and she chose to marry Steve. But when it comes down to it? It's all about what Steve wants, enjoys, expects. 

[Jana814]

19 minutes ago, Alisamer said:

 

It's all about Steve. Teri is pretty awful herself, and she chose to marry Steve. But when it comes down to it? It's all about what Steve wants, enjoys, expects. 

Exactly it is all about Steve. He doesn’t care about Teri or his children all he cares about is his own wants & needs. It’s been that like for years. 

Edited December 4, 2020 by Jana814

[Bethy]

1 hour ago, Jana814 said:

Exactly it is all about Steve. He doesn’t care about Teri or his children all he cares about is his own wants & needs. It’s been that like for years. 

If he cared about anyone else, he would've figured out a way to deal with his own insecurity rather than tearfully pulling the boys out of sports. He would've figured out a way to deal with his roaming eyes without dressing four generations of women in shapeless sacks. 

[Howl]

On 12/2/2020 at 1:13 AM, allyisyourpally5 said:

Hindering the girls is the ultimate outcome here, because snow pants are probably the most modest thing anyone can wear.

When I was 2nd - 4th grade, my dad was in the military and we lived in Alaska, near Anchorage.  In the winter, we were bundled to the max to wait for the school bus, in the dark, often in sub zero temps.  When we got to school, off came the snow pants and layers under our many petticoats, because girls couldn't wear pants indoors. 

Flashback! No parents drove us to the bus stop or waited with us; we walked to the bus stop by ourselves.  I don't recall in general that anyone feared bears (of course, they were hibernating in winter), but moose were a possibility at any time and were considered potentially very dangerous.  Yet, this was a time in the US (mid 1950s) when women (single or married) were still quite limited in many of their rights, particularly financial. 

 

[NancyDrewFan1989]

11 hours ago, fundiefan said:

I will still never understand why Teri had to follow Steve's diet. You can support your partner without doing the exact same thing. In fact, I'd say it's unhealthy if you have to do what your partner does for any reason. Choosing to share life is not living carbon copy lives. 

And, gee, all that obsessive dieting didn't solve his problem. He actually needed science & medicine to get him where he should be. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for doing what you can to live a healthy life. But, I am not for being obsessive about your choices and I am not for dragging your spouse along for the ride. 

I wish they'd take medical advise about masks, distancing and protecting elderly & immunocompromised people in their family. Errr... among their relatives/the married boys & their families; however the hell they refer to them. They don't share a home so these people should not be "having people over" - people from separate households - to the extent they do. In that one Thanksgiving photo the most vulnerable of the Maxwell cult clan are right there - Gigi & Anna. 

In a way, I can see Teri following Steve's diet to be supportive of him while he struggles with his heart problems. But, I see what you mean. It wouldn't shock me if Steve guilted Teri into following his diet to an extent to reminding of her being a dutiful housewife and following his headship. 

Honestly, I don't understand the Maxwells anymore with their views on the pandemic. One minute it seems like they are following the guidelines and doing what they can to keep everyone safe, like Steve, Gigi, and Anna Marie. The next minute, they are breaking protocol and not following anything. I just don't get it anymore. The family seems to be hypocritical during the whole crisis. Like for Jesse's wedding Gigi didn't travel to the no mask wedding for her own safety. When the family returned they got together with her for her birthday with following little protocol. Which one is it? Follow the safety guidelines to protect Gigi or not. Like pick one already.

[Bluebirdbluebell]

16 hours ago, fundiefan said:

I will still never understand why Teri had to follow Steve's diet. You can support your partner without doing the exact same thing. In fact, I'd say it's unhealthy if you have to do what your partner does for any reason. Choosing to share life is not living carbon copy lives. 

And, gee, all that obsessive dieting didn't solve his problem. He actually needed science & medicine to get him where he should be. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for doing what you can to live a healthy life. But, I am not for being obsessive about your choices and I am not for dragging your spouse along for the ride. 

I wish they'd take medical advise about masks, distancing and protecting elderly & immunocompromised people in their family. Errr... among their relatives/the married boys & their families; however the hell they refer to them. They don't share a home so these people should not be "having people over" - people from separate households - to the extent they do. In that one Thanksgiving photo the most vulnerable of the Maxwell cult clan are right there - Gigi & Anna. 

I think Teri wanted to be on the diet, although she didn't enjoy it. And maybe the real problem isn't that Steve insists she follows his diet, but that Teri has to do all the cooking. It's easier to make the same thing for two people versus making two different dinners. 

I've mentioned this before, but I think Steve is one of most at risk when it comes to Coronavirus. His coronary artery disease puts him in the high risk category. At 69, he's not young enough to have an age advantage against corona. He should take mask wearing as seriously as he took his diet. 

Gigi and Anna Marie are both adults, who are responsible for making their own decisions. I think they both wanted to have Thanksgiving with Teri and Steve. 

[Austrian Atheist]

I just wish Terri would explain, why she follows the same diet. Maybe she has her own health issues? Or she is scared because she is getting in older too? Or she wants to support Steve? Or it's just easier to cook the same things for both of them?

Is it so difficult to blog one or two sentences about her decision? Without any explanation she makes it really sound like he forces her to eat the same wat...

 

[Bethy]

4 hours ago, Austrian Atheist said:

I just wish Terri would explain, why she follows the same diet. Maybe she has her own health issues? Or she is scared because she is getting in older too? Or she wants to support Steve? Or it's just easier to cook the same things for both of them?

Is it so difficult to blog one or two sentences about her decision? Without any explanation she makes it really sound like he forces her to eat the same wat...

 

I think she feels pressure, either from him or from within, to support him fully by following the diet as strictly as he does. If it was just a matter of not wanting to fix separate dinners, then fine - but she could still be supplementing her own nutritional needs with things that aren't allowed on his diet, and she wouldn't be so painfully thin. She was never heavy, at least during the time I've followed the blog, but she's lost so much weight she looks frail now.

[freejugar]

Maybe I'm reading too much into his posts, but there was a very smug tone back then when he mentioned that he had lowered with cholesterol with diet only and no pills, as if he were somehow better than people who had to take pills.

Also, for Steve the control freak this is another thing out of his control, he can control his crazy diet but he con't control the fact the he has to take pills.

[fundiefan]

22 minutes ago, freejugar said:

Maybe I'm reading too much into his posts, but there was a very smug tone back then when he mentioned that he had lowered with cholesterol with diet only and no pills, as if he were somehow better than people who had to take pills.

Also, for Steve the control freak this is another thing out of his control, he can control his crazy diet but he con't control the fact the he has to take pills.

I read the post a year or so ago the same way. Steve didn't want statins so he changed his diet. Dr. was "amazed" & said keep doing what you're doing. 

Now, not so much, I guess. Even the great & powerful Steve, with the help of his wife preparing his food for him, could not control this one. 

And, even if Teri did the diet so she didn't have to prepare two meals - why the hell couldn't Steve make his own meals when he is the one who has to eat differently than the rest of the family?

(That's rhetorical, I know in their world there is no way Steve would do women's work like meal prep, unless it's Christmas Day when 'the guys" cook or he's flipping squirting brats on the grill). 

[Jana814]

Teri has sacrificed so much when it comes to Steve. Her happiness, her mental stability she always put his needs before her own. So it didn’t surprise me when she started to follow his diet. 

[Botkinetti]

It doesn’t surprise me at all that she followed his diet. This is the woman who wouldn’t even remind her husband to order a pizza. His ego must be served at all times . I think Steve was shocked that the entire family didn’t eat exactly as he did.

[Jana814]

35 minutes ago, Botkinetti said:

It doesn’t surprise me at all that she followed his diet. This is the woman who wouldn’t even remind her husband to order a pizza. His ego must be served at all times . I think Steve was shocked that the entire family didn’t eat exactly as he did.

I’m sure he was surprised. Their children have also sacrificed their happiness to make their father happy. Instead of follow their own paths they had to do what their father wanted them to do. 

[freethemall]

57 minutes ago, Botkinetti said:

It doesn’t surprise me at all that she followed his diet. This is the woman who wouldn’t even remind her husband to order a pizza. His ego must be served at all times . I think Steve was shocked that the entire family didn’t eat exactly as he did.

I'm happy the 3 SAHDs didnt follow the diet, that would have been ridiculous.

[NancyDrewFan1989]

1 hour ago, Botkinetti said:

It doesn’t surprise me at all that she followed his diet. This is the woman who wouldn’t even remind her husband to order a pizza. His ego must be served at all times . I think Steve was shocked that the entire family didn’t eat exactly as he did.

She really has; now that I think about it. She gave him five more children after not being able to handle three and battling severe depression. She started to follow a diet to either support him or was pressured by him. She gave up any chance of having a dream job in order to be a dutiful housewife and homeschool. She's given up so much for Steve that it makes me sad. She has been supportive of him all of these years at her own expense. Him on the other chance seems to care less about what is best for Teri and selfishly gets what he wants. 

Edited December 5, 2020 by NancyDrewFan1989
Grammar

[Hane]

FWIW, my 55-year-old sister has adopted the same kind of low fat, whole food vegan diet Stevehovah has (although she does take a moderate detour occasionally), and it’s doing wonders for her Type II diabetes. She’s had blood sugar readings as low as 85. She keeps healthy foods in the house, but doesn’t force her meals on anyone else.