OMG - New Maxwell Post

[bananacat]

It's so weird that they made her change her name. My uncle married a woman with the same name as one of his sisters, and we just thought it was funny. There's hardly ever any confusion, and if there is it's really not a big deal.

My mom has a brother named Mike and her sister married a man named Mike. One of them sometimes goes by Michael, but is still called Mike plenty of the time. Even when I was a little kid, I rarely had a problem having two Uncle Mikes. I also have an Uncle Mike on the other side of my family. None of them need to go by their middle names and the world doesn't collapse. Occasionally there is some confusion, but it's so rare that I can't even think of a specific example.

I wonder though, if R-Anna ever gets married, if NR-Anna will just get to be Anna again and they'll use last names.

[thoughtful]

heh heh..."succulent"...heh heh

:character-beavisbutthead:

[thoughtful]

ah....thanks for the explanation about cookie pizza!

When I don't eat enough (and believe me, I eat a LOT), my thinking slows down. I'm tired, I don't have much energy to move. Maybe that is part of the reasoning behind the small amounts of food the Maxwells eat - if people can't think clearly, they are easier to control, easier to manipulate.

Yep -- that's a pretty common ploy in cults. Not that I'm accusing Steve of making his family a cult or anything.

[bananacat]

I'm not sure where people are getting that the Maxwells are stingy with food. The family does not look starved and they've been shown to be proficient with baking. That much experience in baking tells me they aren't fasting on a regular basis. I've followed the Maxwells for many years and I remembered Steve and some of the kids looking a bit tubby during their younger years. Steve noted that food was a constant issue for him and it appeared the entire family had gone on a diet a few years back, but nothing drastic. Plus, I feel they've put more stress on exercising recently (which is good). I guess I don't see the monastic diet that others are implying. Their daily recipe seem ok. My own family rare eats baked goods and our desserts consists of fruit so I actually find the Maxwell diet on the unhealthy side at times with their cheesecakes and frosted cookies (I dislike both because they're typically too sweet). They could use more greens in their diet if anything. However, my motto is moderation in everything. The Maxwells are probably careful about not being gluttons, but I'm not sure that's unhealthy.

They once went to a fast food place for lunch (maybe Taco Bell) but two of the boys were bad so they had to stay in the car and eat crackers. They had entire meal of just crackers. No cheese or peanut butter, not fruits or veggies on the side, just plain crackers.

At least once a week for dinner they eat nothing but raw vegetables and bread. I wonder if they are even allowed to have salad dressing.

Having a single burrito each is an occasion so special that it warrants a blog post about it.

They will frequently split something made for a few people between the whole family.

Steve forbid Teri to drink Pepsi because she liked it and he thought it was becoming an idol.

Steve is a giant control freak with food just like he is with everything else. They have some seriously messed up behaviors when it comes to food.

[clibbyjo]

They once went to a fast food place for lunch (maybe Taco Bell) but two of the boys were bad so they had to stay in the car and eat crackers. They had entire meal of just crackers. No cheese or peanut butter, not fruits or veggies on the side, just plain crackers.

At least once a week for dinner they eat nothing but raw vegetables and bread. I wonder if they are even allowed to have salad dressing.

Having a single burrito each is an occasion so special that it warrants a blog post about it.

They will frequently split something made for a few people between the whole family.

Steve forbid Teri to drink Pepsi because she liked it and he thought it was becoming an idol.

Steve is a giant control freak with food just like he is with everything else. They have some seriously messed up behaviors when it comes to food.

The stromboli!11!!! They made 1 stromboli for all 8 of them. They had like 6 oz. of cheese and 3 oz. of pepperoni. My teenager would eat double or triple that in one sitting himself and he is 5'10 140lbs. Growing kids need food ,damn it!

[Guest Anonymous]

I think you hit the nail on the head, Lissar. That and your hilarious post caused me to de-lurk and inspired one cool username. Thanks! :lol:

Welcome and you're welcome! :P

[gardenvarietycitizen]

ah....thanks for the explanation about cookie pizza!

When I don't eat enough (and believe me, I eat a LOT), my thinking slows down. I'm tired, I don't have much energy to move. Maybe that is part of the reasoning behind the small amounts of food the Maxwells eat - if people can't think clearly, they are easier to control, easier to manipulate.

I know that's one thing actual group cults do - they mess with members' blood sugar levels at events, basically, with combinations of fasting and eating tiny little starch-only ritual food and then doing heavy work, etc.

If I'm very much involved in some task, I can easily forget to eat, and once the hunger pangs go away (as they will for me in a short time once I tell the stomach "yeah yeah in a minute let me finish this one thing") the way I'll finally realize I need to eat is that I'm not thinking clearly and so the project or reading or studying or whatever it is isn't progressing along. Then I think, wait, I didn't eat! and instantly I'm ravenous.

[IrishRose]

I just feel sorry for Sarah. At her age I was married and working on finishing my BA so I could become a teacher. I can't imagine living at home and cleaning all day an already clean house.

As for the food issues.. I'm sure Steve would take one look at me and say I'm a glutton. Although I do love my sweets...I got it naturally from my dad who always had dessert until he got cancer and could hardly eat....I've been on non-stop meds that has caused my weight to stay high despite having a rather active job as a teacher. I don't eat much at all...but I do eat better than the Maxwells.

As for the Pepsi issue. I don't like Pepsi, but I drink diet lime Coke all the time, if my headship tried to take that away from me he'd lose his head! :character-tweety:

[Almost Quiverfull]

I have followed the Max blog for a long time. They are my favorite ultra-fundy family. I have so many comments about them I don't know where to begin. (I was going to start a new topic since this thread is so long, but I can't figure out how to do so).

First of all, I wish those people would learn the difference between subject and object pronouns. Everytime I read "Pray for Melanie and I" I want to hurl. Everytime I read their blog I find pronoun abuse. Even in one of Teri's articles she misuses the word I. (She says I when she should say me). The worst offender is Sarah; I can't believe she has written a series of books without learning when to say I and when to say me. I even caught Christopher using "myself" when he should've said me.

I read the post about the boys being forced to eat crackers whenever the rest of the family went to Taco Bell. That's definately not a punishment that fits the crime.

When Melanie was in labor with their second little girl, Bethany, Nathan posted and it almost sounded to me like he was apologizing because they decided that she would go ahead and have some pain medication. Apparently it was a pretty difficult labor. I also thought it was interesting that he speaks about a male doctor. In the world of patriarchy a woman is not supposed to be seen by a male doctor. Gothard has a whole teaching about the steps toward modesty a couple should take if they choose to have a hospital birth and are forced to have a male doctor. (I know this because a Gothardite couple I used to know put out a bunch of Gothard material at church and I snatched it all up). One of the requirements he lays out is that the couple should limit the number of people that come into the room during labor and delivery - so a pediatrician who comes in to check the baby would be a huge no-no.

I really like Chris and NR-Anna. I hope they can make a break from the family. She is very plain but with some normal clothes and makeup she'd be quite attractive. That wedding dress was hideously ugly and I noticed that she and her brides maids were completely without make-up and jewelry. Not even a strand of pearls for the bride. But the wedding pictures were very nice. I also wonder about Chris's first courtship. It seemed odd to me that both families met to decide this poor girl's fate and that Chris called her father instead of her. Pathetic! I suspect that Sara was probably a little too fashionable and not quite frumpy enough for the family.

Has anyone ever heard their music? Are they any good?

Sorry to throw so many ideas out at once.

[YPestis]

Well, people have pointed out single instances of weird food restrictions but again, I don't see any of the family looking starved a and their proficiency in baking and cooking leads me to believe they are feeding themselves. I guess it's possible the girls merely bake on a regular basis and the family forgo eating their baked goods but that seems bizarre, even for the Maxwells...

Also, we've heard of an instance of depriving kids of lunch, while not healthy or consistent with current parenting practices, was not an uncommon disciplinary practice a few generations ago (going to bed without dinner). If anything, I find that consistent with the Maxwell beliefs in following older parenting ideas.

I think the Maxwells lead bland lives and making food is something they post because it's an "exciting" family undertaking for them. But again, I see no issue where each of them are receiving deficient portion size of food. Steve may be a control freak about food and try to keep things bland, but that just makes their life that much more boring LOL.

Are people reading a bit too deeply into their posts? I figure when they state they shared this or that food, they probably supplement their dishes with larger portion sizes of something else. If my parents had to share what they ate every night, I bet people would think we were starving. We eat large portions of vegetables and rice (aka like the Maxwell's raw vegetables and bread night). We just share them in a communal dish. People are always surprised how little meat we eat. My fiance's family is American and allocates each person enough meat dinner to feed my entire family of three for one meal. But the Chinese method of cooking meat consistent of cutting up into little pieces and stirring frying them to share. I dont' feel starved afterwards. In fact, I'd say the average American diet consists of too much meat based product.

My family sometimes don't eat meat, substituting for tofu or other sources of plant protein. We almost never eat sweets at the dinner table, opting for fruits. However, we scoop out enough rice and vegetables and protein to keep us healthy. Both my parents are aging yet they've kept healthy weight, not deviating more than 5lbs since early adulthood. I'm the glutton in the family eating ice cream and cookies in between meals. I guess I find the Maxwells diet more boring than dangerous.

The Maxwell children are at a good height, none of them are too thin. The teen Maxwells have grown at a good pace. Yes, mild malnutrition can be asymptomatic or they may show up in vague symptoms such as dizziness, weakness, fatigue, but the boys also participate in physically active jobs (construction, fixing the bus) so.....

I can believe the Maxwells are stingy with the enjoyment of food. Their schedule only gives them 30minutes to eat. Their foods may be bland and they may restrain themselves from "fun" foods, but that's just one more weird thing about the Maxwell. I can even believe Steve Maxwell controlling everyone's food menu. However, I just don't see any signs of malnutrition. And since my family share different eating habits than most Americans, I am not quick to jump to assume someone else is starving their kids because they are allowed two animal crackers or banned pepsi from home. If they restricted water or allowed two sticks of carrots as their only veggies for the day, that's another story.

I guess I'm the odd person out. :)

[gardenvarietycitizen]

Has anyone ever heard their music? Are they any good?

You can sample their CD on their website.

If you want to see them perform live, you can see them sing "I'll Fly Away" at one of their conferences, green matching frumpers and all, on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsdPFxiDUDI. :whistle:

[gardenvarietycitizen]

I guess I'm the odd person out. :)

Nah, I'm with ya. I don't think they're starving or underfed so much either, but just really worried (well, Steve is really worried) about enjoying the food they eat too much and making enjoyment of eating a big part of life. So, the main part of their day should be the bible study, not the dinner beforehand, even if dinner beforehand is perfectly adequate, well made, and filling.

When they post about "wow look what we made for dinner" probably being happy and treasuring that particular meal is a big deal to them, so it's a party and postworthy. Not for the eating, but for being all "wow, this is goooood!" about it.

[Almost Quiverfull]

I agree with you Y - they don't seem to be starving and most Americans consume way too much meat. I do believe the punishment where the boys had to eat crackers while the family ate in Taco Bell, while not abusive, was certainly odd. Yes, a common punishment in the past was to go to bed without any dinner (usually my dad would just send us to bed right after dinner because he wanted us to eat). I felt like the "no Taco Bell" punishment was not about the boys not being able to eat, but more about not getting the fun of going into a restaurant. Drastic? Maybe not so much, but it's certainly not a punishment I would've chose for my own children. I think I would have meted out some other kind of discipline once we arrive home.

Thanks for the heads up Garden, I'll check that out.

[fundiefan]

Starving or underfed? Nah. They're healthy enough. Altlhough I do remember a picture of Teri at Walmart on one of their trips pushing a shopping cart full of Wonder bread and buns, cans of chili and Campbells soup galore. Typical American diet of crap food, but they're not alone in that by any stretch.

My only observation of their food other than remembering that one picture is that is it as boring, plain and mundane as they are.

I do sometimes think that when feeding six adults and two teenagers, they would make...more...but, that's usually a one off observation of one meal or something (like the single, barely stuffed stromboli with salad, for eight). Maybe they just don't have big appetites or, whatever.

Steve does seem to punish and reward with food though. The boys eating crackers in the van while others sat, within view, in Taco Bell to eat, etc...There are definitely food issues in that house, most likely all originating in Steve's obsessions, personal or otherwise. But, they're certainly not starving.

[clibbyjo]

You can sample their CD on their website.

If you want to see them perform live, you can see them sing "I'll Fly Away" at one of their conferences, green matching frumpers and all, on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsdPFxiDUDI. :whistle:

You really DON'T want to check it out, trust me. Once you have heard it, you cannot unhear... :D

[browncoatslytherin]

You really DON'T want to check it out, trust me. Once you have heard it, you cannot unhear... :D

actually, they sound a lot like the old-fashioned country music-y christian singers that my parents listened to. i must keep this away from them, they might actually buy their cd and support them! :naughty:

[gardenvarietycitizen]

Heh. :D

Interesting thing about YouTube, there's another Maxwell Family that sings gospel music with waaaaaayyyyyyyy more clips posted. That other Maxwell Family actually has a decent number of fans, for good reason.

[Almost Quiverfull]

I feel the need to correct my own grammar when I said, "certainly not a punishment I would've chose for my own children" I should've written chosen not chose. It was a typo and I just now noticed as I was reading my post again. I probably wouldn't bothered if I hadn't criticized the Maxwell family for the grammar on their blog.

I did listen to the samples of their CD on their website and looked at the YouTube video. They're not horrible, but I certainly wouldn't buy the CD. Their instrumentation is not bad, their vocals aren't the greatest. They need a pretty soprano voice in there. Whoever it is singing on the CD has a really odd quality to her (his?) voice. It's almost like they're trying to sing in a more gaelic style. It really doesn't work. Maybe they're better live without Steve singing.

[tehgoobster]

I don't think they're underfed or malnourished, but I do think that Steve has control issues with food. QueenMother, the FJ poster who knows them IRL, pretty much said as much as well, IIRC. I'm kind of surprised that Steve is so against enjoying food and taking the time to savor the experience. I sometimes think that the Maxwells completely skip over Ecclesiastes during their Bible studies. LOL.

[kunoichi66]

Yep -- that's a pretty common ploy in cults. Not that I'm accusing Steve of making his family a cult or anything.

:dance:

[Guest Anonymous]

I don't think that the Maxwell diet is generally restricted either, but I think Steve himself has food issues which he imposes on the family at times.

[lilwriter85]

It bugs me how the Maxwells act like they are the only ones who make cookie pizzas. I guess we should be expecting more posts about food, they recently blogged about the ice cream cake that had for Anna when she passed the A++ training.

[Guest Anonymous]

They don't have unrestricted internet access though, so they will be unfamiliar with asking Google for recipe help.

I LOVE that Steve reads here though and changes posts and comments in response to what is said.

Look out for FJ at the conference next year, Steve... we're coming to get you! :twisted:

[Markie]

I know that Steve and Teri have banned Christmas trees and Xmas decorations from their home. Wonder if Nathan and Melanie, and Chris and Anna have followed suit in their homes or have some festive decorations (minus Santa, because I doubt they will allow him into their homes)? I kinda hope they do. Both Nate and Chris must remember the not-so-fundy days of their childhoods.

[emmiedahl]

The Maxwells live like we are already in some kind of post-apocalyptic hell, a crazy world in which animal crackers must be rationed and anyone outside the commune is a brain-sucking zombie. Jeez, they make Christianity look horrible. Why would anyone want to join them? I think that is going to be the biggest hurdle in marrying off the kids: no boy will be somber and depressed enough for one of the daughters, and no girl in her right mind will marry into the commune (especially now that we can see the miserable existence of the current DILs).

They look and sound so miserable. Even in happy events, they are just a wet freaking blanket.