If one of the Max DILs has the first grandson....

[tabitha2]

Do you see blatant or just subtle favoritism,a rise in that DIL or sons status? something else? You know they want that first boy;I think many more girls will be a disappointment though they'll never say it.

[Alcyone]

I think after their experiences, they would be happy to have living grandchildren, regardless of sex. They would probably like a boy but they do value girls because they can cook, clean, do childcare and so at this point more girls would be a big help.

One thing I have to say about them is that I never saw them complain about the years the Lord made them wait for grandkids. It had to be a huge heartache after they had been obedient and raised a quiverfull for Him that He waited so long to give them their reward, their jewels in the crown. They either do stoic well or they truly are resigned to the "Lord's will", whatever it may be.

[FloraDoraDolly]

Steve & Teri don't seem to be all that concerned about whether or not their grown children breed large quivers. The Maxwells are Quiverfull in the sense that they are against birth control and Steve even had a vasectomy reversal, but I haven't seen anything on their blog about a 200-year plan or whatever. And if they wanted a lot of grandchildren, wouldn't they have tried to find a husband for Sarah?

[Kitty]

I said in another thread that the Maxwells never struck me as baby collectors; they seem to just like having lots of kids. They don't seem like Dominionists and Teri is menopausal now, and doesn't seem to be terribly upset about it. If they were baby collectors, they'd be all about pregnancy and sharing every little detail and ultrasound picture. Steve has given some pretty curt responses to people who have asked about Anna and Melanie's pregnancies- while Melanie and Nathan are fine sharing certain details, Christopher and Anna likely aren't, and Steve's likely tired of having to field all those questions. (Not that I don't think he's a douche, I can just understand where they're coming from).

I think the Maxwells will be happy about any baby who is born, regardless of sex. Maybe they would like a boy, but I don't think they'll be unhappy if they only get girls. They don't strike me as those kinds of people.

[Patsy]

They treat boys and girls differently, so I expect to see a bit of that, but I honestly don't think they'd hold up the new grandson as worthy of more affection than the others. I do think they genuinely care about their nieces/granddaughters, not just as their tools to impose their will on the world, even if that care is kind of weird and detached.

[Guest Anonymous]

I think the biggest, saddest risk is that one of the babies may not survive. I really hope that is not the case.

[Hane]

Some years back, there was a "Can This Marriage Be Saved?" piece in "Ladies' Home Journal" in which a husband of about 40 or so experienced a religious re-awakening (he was Catholic) and, among other things, wanted to get his vasectomy reversed. His wife was appalled and said no dice, hence the marital crisis. (He and his wife had two kids, IIRC.) The wife and the counselor were able to talk him out of the vasectomy reversal, but accepted what I thought was a bizarre, sudden rise in hyper-religious behavior: daily Mass attendance, rosaries, setting up a chapel in the house--after a lifetime of having been a regular ol' Catholic. Note: I don't think there's anything wrong with daily Mass, saying rosaries, or having a special place for prayer--it's just that this guy went from zero-to-60 in his religious observance, and I thought it was a sign of something emotionally wrong not being addressed.

When I first learned about Steve Maxwell, I immediately thought of that guy.

My sister the licensed clinical social worker (a devout, Mass-attendin', rosary-sayin' Catholic), whose clients suffer from mental illnesses, told me that sudden hyperreligiosity is typical of certain mental disorders. After the death of Ex-Mr.-Hane #1, who suffered from bipolar disorder and was not med-compliant, I learned that he had been taking spiritual counseling with his boss, a Catholic deacon--after nearly a lifetime of eschewing formal religion of all kinds.

[Feberin]

I don't think that the Maxwells will be over the top in their prefering a grandson to a granddaughter. I think there will be a bit of extra excitement for the first grandson but I think that's true in any family when there are a couple of one gender and another shows up. My in-laws have two grandsons and my SIL is expecting their first granddaughter. They are really excited for it and my MIL has gone crazy with the clothes but I don't think it's so much that they put more importance on a girl then a boy but that it's the first girl and there are already two boys. I would imagine that it's very similar for the Maxwells.