New Maxwell post - more cleaning house!

[Witsec7]

All of these fundy blogs are just infomercials for the crap they sell, either their stuff or some other crap.

[clibbyjo]

We never had locks on the cupboards either. When the kids were babies, they loved to pull the pots and lids out and bang them all damn day whenever I was cooking. It kept them busy and safe while I cooked(on the other side of the kitchen away from stove) and I have a bunch of cute pictures of them emptying the cupboards just so they could go sit the the empty cupboard which was the other favorite game. I do not think the Maxwell girls would ever be allowed such mess making fun and noise. Of course I also didn;t expect my babies to clean or cook dinner so you know....

[lilwriter85]

Is Sarah the 30yo? How old are the other girls? I'm not that familiar with the Maxwells.

Mary is very pretty and the two little girls are adorable. It makes me sad that such cute girls are doomed to such a narrow life.

Yup Sarah is 30 year old. I think Anna and Mary are 16 and 17, but not sure.

[Elle]

They managed to work in ads for 1Ton Ramp, Moody books, and Chore Packs in one blog post. Good work, Maxwells!

I don't get those chore packs. What do they think happened before people hawked pre-printed lists? Cry in confusion? Panic? Let their homes fall to shambles?

[FloraDoraDolly]

Yup Sarah is 30 year old. I think Anna and Mary are 16 and 17, but not sure.

Sarah is 30. Anna is 18 or 19-- she finished "high school" about a year ago. Mary is about 15.

[TMS]

Mary is very pretty, and yes, the little girls are adorable - but having good looks doesn't make them any more valuable than a girl who is plain. Just a little observation that annoys me. I have read newsreports about crimes against women and for some reason it seems always so much more dreadful if the victims were "beautiful." Ugh. One life is just as valuable as any other. What do looks have to do with it?

It's actually surprising that they allow Bethany to play office. If women working in an office is sinful, wouldn't this be sinful play in the eyes of the Maxwells?

[Zoom]

Mary is very pretty, and yes, the little girls are adorable - but having good looks doesn't make them any more valuable than a girl who is plain. Just a little observation that annoys me. I have read newsreports about crimes against women and for some reason it seems always so much more dreadful if the victims were "beautiful." Ugh. One life is just as valuable as any other. What do looks have to do with it?

It's actually surprising that they allow Bethany to play office. If women working in an office is sinful, wouldn't this be sinful play in the eyes of the Maxwells?

Sarah and Anna do a lot of the admin work for the different family "ventures". I think, for the Maxwells, office work in women is okay as long as the office is at home.

The girls are freakin adorable. Shame that they are part of that family.

[uber frau]

I think Steve was smacked down into submission over his 'God-hates-Easter-eggs' post. There were enough polite, well thought out responses to make it clear, even to Steve, that good, godly folk aren't going to accept his smarmy self-righteousnes but there's no way he'll apologise or admit that he was wrong so this is his equivalent to changing the subject. He's saying "look over there-

Free the Maxwells.

[Daenerys]

It's great that family is willing and able to help out.

When it comes to the Maxwells though, I got nothing good to say. Nothing that hasn't been said a million times in a million ways at least.

Chore packs. Choke packs. Their lives are so mundane that even what could be a time of family coming together - you know, just because they're family - becomes a way to promote their crap.

Life isn't about making money. It's about living it. Something loving and caring is, in the hands of the Maxwells, a selling opportunity.

Fuck them. I don't believe for a minute anyone cares about Nathan's family. They're just material for sales.

Steve doesn't, but the girls probably do.

[Justme]

Did anyone else notice the blurb where Bethy is potty training? One seems rather young. When does she turn 2? They said she gets 2 pieces of candy for staying dry. It's good that Mel is using a "reward" system rather than a "punishment" system. I guess if Beth seems ready, then it's good.

[Daisy4]

I thought it was weird that bethany asked permission to go into her dad's office. Wouldn't most toddlers barge in and hop up on daddys lap?

i guess she has been well trained :snooty:

[divadivine]

Did anyone else notice the blurb where Bethy is potty training? One seems rather young. When does she turn 2? They said she gets 2 pieces of candy for staying dry. It's good that Mel is using a "reward" system rather than a "punishment" system. I guess if Beth seems ready, then it's good.

I was very surprised to read that they were giving her candy as a reward. Makes you wonder if they made that up to make the family seem a little more normal? Candy will rot your teeth. Candy could be made an idol. And yes, she does seem really young to be potty training. However, I'm sure they don't want to have two kids in diapers (even cloth diaper) at one time. That is expensive (if you use Pampers/Huggies/disposable diapers) or you spend a lot of time washing cloth diapers-- if they use cloth. I don't know.

I think Sarah makes up stuff to write in her posts.... or Steve makes up the "copy" and Sarah drops in the photos with the not so entertaining captions.

I can't believe they were allowed to play "train" while cleaning. Playing is fun. Maxwell's don't have fun. Ever.

Also, did anyone catch the photo of Susannah on the wall with the other girls? So sad. While you certainly want to remember a child who has passed away, it would be difficult to see her hooked up to so many machines. I saw the slide show of photos they had posted, did they have any photos of her without the medical equipment?

[TMS]

My kids were all 2 when they potty trained. It was a perfect age for it and didn't take long. I gave one M&M each time they went while training. They're all big now and no one has rotted teeth.

[clarinetpower]

That post made me so sad. They tried so hard to make it interesting, but it just... isn't. It's mind-numbingly dull, no matter how cute the toddlers are.

Those poor people.

[divadivine]

My kids were all 2 when they potty trained. It was a perfect age for it and didn't take long. I gave one M&M each time they went while training. They're all big now and no one has rotted teeth.

I didn't mean to imply that it was wrong to reward Bethany with candy for staying dry. Most parents do something similar. It works. However, it's just odd that the Maxwell's are using this with their little ones because Steve is such an asshat. I'd see him saying it was wrong and making some argument that candy is bad, etc. I wonder if they got the candy on the Easter Clearance table at the grocery store??

[Justme]

Nathan wrote a comment thanking them. They also said something about him wanting to clean, but the "girls" prefered to as not to take away from his "family time".

I wonder if Mel's family ever helps. She has around 10 siblings and she's from the area. (She & Nate met at the "ebil church". They don't have to mention them by name, but a "some of Mel's sisters stop bye each Tues to xxx" would be nice. Maybe her side is more "fundie lite" and not "approved"???

[FloraDoraDolly]

Nathan wrote a comment thanking them. They also said something about him wanting to clean, but the "girls" prefered to as not to take away from his "family time".

I wonder if Mel's family ever helps. She has around 10 siblings and she's from the area. (She & Nate met at the "ebil church". They don't have to mention them by name, but a "some of Mel's sisters stop bye each Tues to xxx" would be nice. Maybe her side is more "fundie lite" and not "approved"???

I wonder if Nathan and Melanie ever take the girls to that church?

[Rainbowcolor]

The blog is about the Steve Maxwells ONLY. Any reference to anyone else is in the context of how the Maxwells "ministered" to them. We never hear about them learning from anyone else, being inspired anyone else, or motivated by anyone else. We never hear thank yous toward anyone who may have helped them be successful on the way. They give credit to nobody. We don't hear gratitude towards their loyal and paying students, blog/corner readers, or customers. We only hear how their products have "blessed" those people. They do say they were "blessed" by people who feed them at their conferences, but never a "Thank you, loyal followers. You make all this possible for us. Thank you for coming to our conference. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't be able to work from home (a beautiful home at that) and feed/clothe all of us." Never a thank you to Gigi and Grandpa for abiding by their rules so the family can stay united. Never a thank you for the example Steve's mom obviously was to raise children on her own after being betrayed by their father. Never a thank you for the mentors, teachers, churches, jobs that have influenced them through the years. Nope, there won't be any mention of Melanie's family helping even if they do.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

The blog is about the Steve Maxwells ONLY.

Now that you mention it, it rings true yeah. It's one of the weirder things about their blog - they will show various people, but no one outside the family is ever introduced as someone having an actual RELATIONSHIP with them, you know? It's just random people at their trade shows, or some casual mention of a waitress they gave a tract to, or whatever.

The few (very few!) pages where they posted about John Marie were almost an exception, at least he showed up more than once and it was implied they know him.

But yeah, very weird vibe.

As for the chore pack and One Ton Ramp mentions, that is known as Advertising. Never miss a chance to pimp the product!

[ladypuglover]

The blog is about the Steve Maxwells ONLY. Any reference to anyone else is in the context of how the Maxwells "ministered" to them. We never hear about them learning from anyone else, being inspired anyone else, or motivated by anyone else. We never hear thank yous toward anyone who may have helped them be successful on the way. They give credit to nobody. We don't hear gratitude towards their loyal and paying students, blog/corner readers, or customers. We only hear how their products have "blessed" those people. They do say they were "blessed" by people who feed them at their conferences, but never a "Thank you, loyal followers. You make all this possible for us. Thank you for coming to our conference. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't be able to work from home (a beautiful home at that) and feed/clothe all of us." Never a thank you to Gigi and Grandpa for abiding by their rules so the family can stay united. Never a thank you for the example Steve's mom obviously was to raise children on her own after being betrayed by their father. Never a thank you for the mentors, teachers, churches, jobs that have influenced them through the years. Nope, there won't be any mention of Melanie's family helping even if they do.

You hit the nail on the head.

[kpmom]

I admit I snickered a little over the bolded part in this reply;

Engvall says:

April 20, 2012 at 2:08 pm

What cute cute pictures. You look like you you have worked very hard judging how clean the house looks! I bet you need a vacation after all your efforts!

I know he is very busy with ITonRamp, but does Nate not do some housework? My husband loves a good going over with the vacuum, but hates dusting.

Thanks again for posting those cute cute pictures,

love Joyengvall

[johnhugh]

Even the family from Kid Farm needs what some would call a vacation.

[FloraDoraDolly]

Now that you mention it, it rings true yeah. It's one of the weirder things about their blog - they will show various people, but no one outside the family is ever introduced as someone having an actual RELATIONSHIP with them, you know? It's just random people at their trade shows, or some casual mention of a waitress they gave a tract to, or whatever.

The few (very few!) pages where they posted about John Marie were almost an exception, at least he showed up more than once and it was implied they know him.

But yeah, very weird vibe.

As for the chore pack and One Ton Ramp mentions, that is known as Advertising. Never miss a chance to pimp the product!

To be fair to the Maxwells, pretty much everyone I know who has an at-home business does this. Whether you're selling Mary Kay or promoting your latest book, you have to spread the word if you want to make any money.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

Granted.

It always stands out regardless of who is doing it, I don't mean to imply the Maxwells are the only ones who are.

(Though I suppose my main thought reading it is, see, yeah, they're pimping their business like any other small business at home people do - meaning, they're not somehow above that or set apart.)

[Rainbowcolor]

Every successful small business I know is VERY appreciative of their custmers. I hear it all the time.

Thanks for coming by. Thank you for your business. We really appreciate your business. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't be here. Thank you so much for stopping by. We know you could be lots of other places, so we really appreciate that you gave your time to come here tonight. My father taught me about xyz. My 5th grade teacher got me interested in xyz. My college professor got me the opportunity to xyz. My grandmother had a huge impact on my life. My coach took a personal Interest in me.