Maxwell 51: Empty Nesters, Empty Vesters? End of an Era

[Tatar-tot]

22 minutes ago, SPHASH said:

Would like an update on how Anna Marie is doing 

Agreed.  I hope she is okay.

[nvmbr02]

There is a picture of Sarah in Chelsy’s blog post from today about the concert she attended. Sarah looks relaxed and  is wearing jeans. Dressed like a regular woman in her late 30s.  

[mango_fandango]

Sarah looks great in the photo! It’s probably not as odd for her to be wearing jeans as she used to wear them/other trousers before Steve went down the rabbit hole of crazy. 

[Maggie Mae]

1 hour ago, nvmbr02 said:

There is a picture of Sarah in Chelsy’s blog post from today about the concert she attended. Sarah looks relaxed and  is wearing jeans. Dressed like a regular woman in her late 30s.  

She looks more relaxed and normal than Chelsy, which I would have never expected! 

[Jana814]

Sarah looks great in the photos. I never thought I would see a Maxwell girl in Jeans. She looks great & very relaxed in them. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

I hope Sarah is doing a lot of stuff like this. I hope she’s going to shows with friends and enjoying more freedom. 

[anjulibai]

Sarah looks awesome! I am so glad she's broken free!

[LurkerOverThePond]

Interesting... Looks like Sarah wasn't originally going with Chelsy and John. Chelsy mentions how they found out that Sarah was going to be in Branson that weekend attending the same show. It seems like she is doing things on her own, having new experiences, and visiting places without family chaperones. This cannot be repeated enough: GO SARAH GO!!!! For someone being a heathen and living on the other side of the world, I'm unnaturally happy for Sarah, Anna, and Mary. They do deserve a life of their own!

As for Steve (and Teri, too): if they ever publish pictures on the blog of the M daughters in pants, I really think Steve owns his followers an explanation. He spent two decades preaching around the country about modest frumpers without contrasting buttons, and with Teri he published books about that lifestyle. And just like that, all those rules went out of the window  (of course for the "girls' " sake I'm more than happy that it happened)

A question for local FJers: does Branson have ties with fundies? Business owners are fundies there? So many of "our" fundies seem to love Branson. The Niednagels/Thomases even seem to worship it.

[JermajestyDuggar]

4 minutes ago, LurkerOverThePond said:

A question for local FJers: does Branson have ties with fundies? Business owners are fundies there? So many of "our" fundies seem to love Branson. The Niednagels/Thomases even seem to worship it.

Branson is extremely family friendly.  There are plenty of wholesome family things for fundies to do. I don’t know if it’s exactly in the Bible Belt. But there are plenty of churches and I’m sure most identify as Christian there. Plus it’s not that far from where the Duggars live. It’s not a huge drive for a lot of the fundie families we follow. 

[fundiefan]

In a way Sarah is almost unrecognizable. Her smile is so genuine it lights up her entire face. It's not a posed shot for blog fodder; it's Sarah being Sarah, and happy. The jeans are interesting, but we knew "the girls" were wearing them so it's no surprise. I think Sarah's face is the most telling thing about the picture. True happiness there. She looks comfortable and at ease. Comfortable in her very own skin. 

[sleepygirl1]

Good for her, I’m so happy she is truly happy.

[hoipolloi]

4 hours ago, LurkerOverThePond said:

A question for local FJers: does Branson have ties with fundies? Business owners are fundies there? So many of "our" fundies seem to love Branson. The Niednagels/Thomases even seem to worship it.

As @JermajestyDuggar said, Branson shows & activities are very family friendly. It's probably the main place in the US to see live shows that meet most items on a fundie checklist of acceptable performances. 

If the businesses & theatres themselves aren't fundie, they're definitely fundie-adjacent.

[Formerlyjeansonly17]

Wow, Sarah looks great!  I'm so happy for her.  I'm interested in the other family members, but I would most love updates on Sarah.  But just to know that she is finally experiencing life on her own and doing what she wants is fabulous!

[Italiangirl]

Can someone remind me the name of Chelsy's blog? I can't remember it right now and want to look at Sarah with a genuine smile, I'm so used to seeing her with that plastered fake one 

Edited November 28, 2021 by Italiangirl

[JermajestyDuggar]

23 minutes ago, Italiangirl said:

Can someone remind me the name of Chelsy's blog? I can't remember it right now and want to look at Sarah with a genuine smile, I'm so used to seeing her with that plastered fake one 

Chelsy Renee

[sleepygirl1]

1 hour ago, Italiangirl said:

Can someone remind me the name of Chelsy's blog? I can't remember it right now and want to look at Sarah with a genuine smile, I'm so used to seeing her with that plastered fake one 

Here it is. http://www.chelsyrenee.com You can also access it through the Bontrager‘s blog along with her other siblings.

[ContrastingButtons]

Sarah looks amazing!  Happy, relaxed, and fashionable even!  Love it! 

[SPHASH]

Sarah looks very happy.  Jumping on the speculation bus, I'm hoping she is courting or married.  It would explain why she moved out.

[Bluebirdbluebell]

1 hour ago, SPHASH said:

Sarah looks very happy.  Jumping on the speculation bus, I'm hoping she is courting or married.  It would explain why she moved out.

Why would she have to be courting or married to move out? I doubt she is married, because that probably would have been covered on the blog. If she's courting, they'd probably want to chaperone her. So I doubt either.

You can be happy while single. I despise fundies for pushing "you have to get married to be happy" narrative. It's really unfair to single people.  Unmarried women, in particular, are treated badly. I don't why snarkers push for women to get married, especially fundie women. It's not progressive; it's just a different slant on the fundie perspective.

Edited November 29, 2021 by Bluebirdbluebell

[FunFunFundie]

I've only been following this sporadically so it's possible I missed it, but last I knew, nobody really knew the story of Sarah leaving, just that she had left. In my head, I imagined...I don't know what. Some sort of Steve-sanctioned move. Like, okay, you ARE approaching middle age. Let's find a house for you and you can be a home-maker in your own right. Something like that.

So the picture of her in jeans was really shocking to me. I guess it *wasn't* a continuation of all things Steve just under a separate roof. I realize it's just clothing, but that is a big departure. Good for Sarah!

[SassyPants]

1 hour ago, FunFunFundie said:

I've only been following this sporadically so it's possible I missed it, but last I knew, nobody really knew the story of Sarah leaving, just that she had left. In my head, I imagined...I don't know what. Some sort of Steve-sanctioned move. Like, okay, you ARE approaching middle age. Let's find a house for you and you can be a home-maker in your own right. Something like that.

So the picture of her in jeans was really shocking to me. I guess it *wasn't* a continuation of all things Steve just under a separate roof. I realize it's just clothing, but that is a big departure. Good for Sarah!

And it sounds like Sarah went to Branson with friends and met up with her brother’s family. I’m imaging Steve just putting up his hands at the girls and saying “fine, do whatever you want.” I hope Teri is laying on the couch swilling Pepsi without any regard for what Steve thinks.

[molecule]

Sarah looks relaxed and content. I have  always felt so sad for her, and I'm so glad she is out there living her own life. She looks good. 

[FloraDoraDolly]

It's so good to see Sarah out and about and wearing jeans. I also enjoyed hearing about how much John and Chelsy's kids enjoyed the music.

[formerfundiefriend]

On zooming in on Sarah in the photo on Chelsey’s blog (which I do agree with the poster who said she is almost unrecognizable with her genuine smile), I am seeing a ring on both her thumb and her ring finger on her right hand…not sure if it means engagement or is just a fashion thing. But interesting none the less especially with the sudden move out. 

[Mrs Ms]

I think the moving out because she is courting or engaged makes no sense as she would be moving into a house with her husband as soon as she marries. Moving into an apartment for less than a year (usual fundie engagement lengths) would be very strange.

Looking at the photo of the 3 women, if you asked me which of them is 39 years old and until this year was living in her parents house being micromanaged by her mega controlling father, I wouldn’t guess it was Sarah!