Maxwell 58: What Will Anna Do? Plus Anna Marie Gives Birth

[Coconut Flan]

They were asked to leave one facility or it was disguised a bit in that the facility was revamping their schedule before the last one.  COVID protocols ended their weekly visits to the assisted living facility.

[SPHASH]

I remember the elderly care facility Steve preached at had a weekly or monthly game night so the Maxwells hijacked it by showing up and inserting Bible time into it.

Edited August 11, 2023 by SPHASH

[Jana814]

1 hour ago, SPHASH said:

I remember the elderly care facility Steve preached at had a weekly or monthly game night so the Maxwells hijacked it by showing up and inserting Bible time into it.

That’s horrible that they hijacked game night. It was probably something the residences enjoyed. But not surprised they did that. 

Edited August 11, 2023 by Jana814

[hoipolloi]

2 hours ago, Jana814 said:

I can see this happening. 

So can I, especially if the staff asked him to do something -- wear masks -- that went against his "principles."

Re: nursing homes. The more accurate labels like assisted living, skilled nursing facility, or senior residence are recent and better terms but I will note that my 90+ yo mother still calls all of them "nursing homes."

[SPHASH]

4 hours ago, Jana814 said:

That’s horrible that they hijacked game night. It was probably something the residences enjoyed. But not surprised they did that. 

https://blog.titus2.com/2015/07/22/young-and-old-a-perfect-match/

[Maggie Mae]

I grew up in the 90s and it was "long term care," "assisted living," "retirement communities" or (as a - dont send me there, prejoatively) "the raisin ranch." Nursing Home was supposedly passe and not to be used as old people don't need to be nursed, they need medical assistance. 

 

In my state now, everyone talks about going to the Pioneer Home and hoping to get into a good one. Even if it's not an official "pioneer home" the state "Pioneer Homes" (assisted living) are very popular among the aged. 

[Giraffe]

 

5 hours ago, SPHASH said:

I remember the elderly care facility Steve preached at had a weekly or monthly game night so the Maxwells hijacked it by showing up and inserting Bible time into it.

I was at a fun girl's night out at the last church I attended. I was having a really good time and we were chatting away and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Until one woman interuppted and turned it into a surprise "ok, we've had our fun, now let's talk about the bible." Completely ruined the vibe. 

[MamaJunebug]

Back to the happy anniversary song: I can’t adequately say how gently happy I feel to see Sarah looking happily plump and womanly (we have about the same silhouette, so please no accusations of anything-shaming) and her hubby with a nice middle-aged guy tum-tum. 
 

Stay skinny as you wannabe, Steve-o.  Your original pre-reversal servant is living her life in her body in her way. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

21 minutes ago, Giraffe said:

 

I was at a fun girl's night out at the last church I attended. I was having a really good time and we were chatting away and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Until one woman interuppted and turned it into a surprise "ok, we've had our fun, now let's talk about the bible." Completely ruined the vibe. 

Was her name Stephanie Maxwell? I’m sort of surprised no granddaughter was named Stephanie after Steve. I guess there’s still time 🙄

[Bethy]

3 hours ago, Giraffe said:

 

I was at a fun girl's night out at the last church I attended. I was having a really good time and we were chatting away and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Until one woman interuppted and turned it into a surprise "ok, we've had our fun, now let's talk about the bible." Completely ruined the vibe. 

The fundie-lite church I was a member of at the time I got married and became a mom couldn't hold a fun event without there being some sort of sermon/lesson. So my bridal and baby showers were both complete with a devotional from one of the older ladies, which, come to think of it, both focused on how I would be giving everything up for someone else in this new stage of life. (The one at my bridal shower very specifically emphasized how I would be giving up my address, phone number, and even my name to be unified with my husband.) It was very refreshing a few years ago to attend a baby shower at a nearby church where they just played silly shower games, ate snacks, and opened gifts without having to give a long lecture to pile on some obligation and fear about the months and years to come. 

[Giraffe]

1 hour ago, Bethy said:

...It was very refreshing a few years ago to attend a baby shower at a nearby church where they just played silly shower games, ate snacks, and opened gifts without having to give a long lecture to pile on some obligation and fear about the months and years to come. 

One of the benefits I've experienced after walking away from religion ("it's not a religion; it's a relationship!" Same difference) has been getting to know people without the pressure of seeing them as a salvation project. I'm currently at a job that I like with people I mostly like. It's been lovely not having the anxiety of wanting to fit in while also fighting the guilt of "I need to tell these people the gospel!!!"

I was inadvertently rude to one of my coworkers yesterday. I simply apologized at a convenient time and we laughed about it because she hadn't even realized I was talking to her! If I think of that interaction when I was still a believer it would have turned into such a ball of chaotic anxiety in my head. What if me being rude to her was the one thing that completely turned her off to Christ? What if anyone else heard me? Was she just being nice when she said she didn't see me as rude? 

While I realize a lot of that can be chalked up to "welcome to the anxiety asshole that lives rent-free in my brain," the lack of "what is god telling me to do in this situation" now is glorious!

Edited August 12, 2023 by Giraffe

[FiveAcres]

6 hours ago, Giraffe said:

One of the benefits I've experienced after walking away from religion ("it's not a religion; it's a relationship!" Same difference) has been getting to know people without the pressure of seeing them as a salvation project. I'm currently at a job that I like with people I mostly like. It's been lovely not having the anxiety of wanting to fit in while also fighting the guilt of "I need to tell these people the gospel!!!"

I was inadvertently rude to one of my coworkers yesterday. I simply apologized at a convenient time and we laughed about it because she hadn't even realized I was talking to her! If I think of that interaction when I was still a believer it would have turned into such a ball of chaotic anxiety in my head. What if me being rude to her was the one thing that completely turned her off to Christ? What if anyone else heard me? Was she just being nice when she said she didn't see me as rude? 

While I realize a lot of that can be chalked up to "welcome to the anxiety asshole that lives rent-free in my brain," the lack of "what is god telling me to do in this situation" now is glorious!

I take it God never told you: "Chill, I've got this."

[Red Hair, Black Dress]

I severely hope Stevehovah doesn't say a word/ utter a sound/ give a look to Sarah and Kory about weight.

Or if he does I hope Sarah and/or Kory blow him off and say it's none of his business.  Which it isn't.  But that's never stopped Stevie before.  So many many things are not his business but he pokes his nose in anyway.

[moreorlessnu]

It's really sweet how Sarah was holding onto Kory's hand with both of her hands. And how he looked down at her hands holding onto his. At the one year mark, that's a good sign. 😉

We've seen her be very relaxed in front of that church audience, so I don't see her holding onto Kory as a sign of nervousness. Unlike the couple to the far right, who look either very uncomfortable, or like they didn't want to have any physical contact with each other; no way to know without knowing more about them. 

I'm still not convinced she's not pregnant. When they first go up to the front, she seems to be either "smoothing the front of her dress with her hand" or "cupping her belly with her hand". Time will tell. 

If this is just the natural healthy size of her body when someone else isn't restricting her food, I hate to think how malnourished and deprived she was all those years. 

[kpmom]

11 hours ago, moreorlessnu said:

It's really sweet how Sarah was holding onto Kory's hand with both of her hands. And how he looked down at her hands holding onto his. At the one year mark, that's a good sign. 😉

We've seen her be very relaxed in front of that church audience, so I don't see her holding onto Kory as a sign of nervousness. Unlike the couple to the far right, who look either very uncomfortable, or like they didn't want to have any physical contact with each other; no way to know without knowing more about them. 

 

Yes, they did look very sweet together, and continued holding hands on the way to their seat. I hope they’re very happy. 
And wow, you were right about the body language with the couple on the far right.  

[Bethy]

14 hours ago, moreorlessnu said:

Unlike the couple to the far right, who look either very uncomfortable, or like they didn't want to have any physical contact with each other; no way to know without knowing more about them. 

 

One thing to toss out there is that some people feel uncomfortable expressing physical affection in church, even with their spouse. That couple didn't jump out at me and I didn't catch their ages, but if they were raised in purity culture that makes a lot of sense. I even knew a couple once who wrote a contract for their courtship based on Josh Harris' book about his courtship with his then-wife, and one of their rules was that they would have no physical contact whatsoever in the church building because it was "distracting." A couple raised with that belief might have a hard time shaking it off. And if they're looking around going "Oh great, everybody else is holding hands, guess we better do the same" when they don't feel comfortable doing so, now they would feel doubly uncomfortable and it would show. 

ISB, obviously, but the theory isn't a far stretch from how I grew up. 

[Sops2]

A recent photo find of Mary and Sam's wedding from an instagram account  that had the Helferich and Bontrager wedding photos too.@psalm374photography

[deborahlynn1979]

That’s SARAH’S account!!

 

 

[Red Hair, Black Dress]

OMG she looks radiantly happy.  They both do.

It appears they are on vacation! Having FUN!!  At the beach!!!

Not doing the crack o' damn dawn death march up the mountain.

God works in mysterious way his wonders to perform.

Is that Stevie Boy's head I hear exploding?

[Howl]

Erma Gerd!  White skinny jeans and tank top! 

 

[SPHASH]

So does Sarah have her own photography business? If so good for her and SUCK IT STEVE!

[marmalade]

43 minutes ago, SPHASH said:

So does Sarah have her own photography business? If so good for her and SUCK IT STEVE!

Sure looks like it. 

[Bethy]

7 hours ago, Howl said:

Erma Gerd!  White skinny jeans and tank top! 

 

Now let's just calm down a minute. That might be a cap-sleeve top, and it rode up on her shoulder because she has her arms up. 

The white skinny jeans are undeniable, though, and that smile! And the beach. Not on a miserable day in the dead of winter, which is about the only time Steve would have allowed his family to see the ocean. 

[Bethy]

Appears she did Sam and Mary's engagement shoot at the greenhouse as well. Some of the samples she's posted look older - Deborah is still a baby in Nate and Mel's family pics, and Mel and the girls are still wearing the arbitrary skirts. But her photos have a spark of light and life that Christopher's do not. I also have yet to spot a roll of extension cord or any empty hangers in her photos. It's too bad she was pigeonholed into writing bland children's books while Christopher was put forward as "the photographer" all these years.

[theologygeek]

She takes better pictures than her brother does.  His are terrible.  Hers are beautiful.  And if you're reading here...  You go Sarah!  I hope you become the most popular photographer in your area!  Use your gifts!  

She can even highlight the homeless problem and bring attention to it.  Turn that photography into God's work.  Someone on my facebook is an award winning photographer who takes pictures of the homeless.  He is an advocate and does a lot of work to bring change to the homeless problems in the US.  

Finally she's at the beach!  Every time they went hiking in the hot sun with those long dresses on, I said it's too bad she wasn't at the beach.  I hope she went in the water too, frolicked in the waves with her good looking husband, and laughed like she didn't have a care in the world!