ELLEN ~ MY HERO !!

Whether Or Not Anyone Believes We Have Angels Among Us, I Sure Believe! I Believe That My Sister-In-Law, Ellen, Was One Of The Strongest, Most Courageous Angels God Has Blessed Our Family With! She Was Such An Amazing Woman!











I've Known Ellen For About 20 Years. I Came Into Her Family As Wife To Who She Called Her BBB (Big Brother Bruce). At Age 35, Ellen Went To Have A Mammogram And Was Told She Was Too Young And To Come Back When She Was 40. Well, At Age 40, When They Gave Her, Her First Mammogram, Ellen Was Diagnosed With Breast Cancer... I Wasn’t There When She Got The Results, But When I Found Out The News, I Was Floored!! I Couldn’t Believe My Ears. How Dare Such A Deadly Disease Affect Our Family! Especially Someone So Young. I Can Only Imagine How She Felt When They Told Her. And What Was Going On In Her Mind. I Felt Such Empathy For Her. I Wanted To Just Hug Her, Cry With Her And Make It All Go Away!

















Through The Years That Followed, I Watched Ellen Go Through So Much Pain And Trauma That Without The Help Of God To Call Upon, She Would Have Not Been Able To Come As Far As She Did. She Fought This Deadly Disease For About 8 Years. What A Struggle! Each Time It Knocked Her Down, She Came Up Fighting With All Her Might! As If That Wasn’t Enough To Deal With, While Fighting For Her Own Life, Ellen Suffered The Death Of Her Dad In June Of 2006, And Her Mom, In September Of 2007. Ellen Called And Talked With Mom Every Day Of Her Married Life. That Was Mom’s Only Daughter And They Were Really Close. We Got Together As Often As Time Would Allow. Ellen And Her Family, Own A Cabin Here In Berkeley Springs And Came Up From Woodbridge, Va 3 Seasons Out Of The Four. One Of Her Favorite Pastimes Was Riding The Lawnmower.











After Mom Passed Away, I Could See How Ellen’s Little Body Was Getting More And More Tired And Weaker As Time Went By. We Were Able To Be Together This Past Thanksgiving And Christmas. It Was A Little Sadder This Year Because Mom Wasn't With Us, But Being With Family Is The Most Important Part Of Any Given Holiday! Ellen Has Touched The Hearts Of So Many People. When I First Met Her, I Knew That I Was Going To Love Being A Part Of This Family.











On My Blogger Site, I Wrote A Post Which I Named "Courage". It Was My First Post About Ellen. Now, Before I Go On, I’d Like To Vent If You Don't Mind? It Was So Very Hard Seeing Ellen Go Through This Battle For So Many Years. She Was One Of The Most Courageous Woman I’ve Ever Known And Loved.

















Ellen Fought This Ugly, Unforgiving Battle With Cancer For The Last Eight Years Of Her Life. She's Gone Through Losing Her Breasts And Her Hair. Through The Pain Of Radiation And Deadly Chemo. She Also Came Through Reconstructive Surgery Of Caging Some Of Her Vertebrae Because It Was Deteriorating. She Endured Having Surgery On Her Brain And On One Of Her Eye Lids. She Came Through The Doctors Trying To Rid The Cancer In Her Spine, And Also Had To Live With It Attacking Her Bone Marrow.











That September, Just Before Mom Passed Away, We Got Word From Ellen That It Came Back Into Her Brain. Mom Was Going Through Some Very Serious Health Problems Of Her Own So We Thought It Best Not To Add That On Her Plate. Ellen Told Us That They Were Gonna Try And Shrink The Cancer In Her Brain This Time But Not To Get Her Hopes Up. She Was Truly Living One Day At A Time. She Decided Not To Go Through The Procedure And They More Or Less Told Her To Go Home And Enjoy The Quality Of Life She Has Left.











At That Time, Along With The Pain N Sorrow We Were All Feeling, I Asked God That Ellen Would Be Able To Enjoy One More Christmas With Her Family. It Was Beautiful. Very Poignant. We Were There, Her Honey, Rocky, Was There, All (3) Of Her Kids And Her 2 Granddaughters Shared A Very Special Christmas That Year! Just Like The Year Before We Knew It Would Be Moms Last Christmas So That Year Was Also Most Unforgettable. God Heard My Prayer And Granted My Hearts Desire. What A Loving God We Have!

















Ellen Passed Away January 12th Of This Year. She Spent Her Last Few Days In The Hospice Section Of The Hospital. I Was Very Concerned That Ellen Has Never Been Baptized, Even As A Child. I Arranged For The Chaplain Of The Hospital To Come In And Baptize Ellen. We Talked About It For A While But The Opportunity Never Presented Itself... Until That Very Time. Her Honey, Rocky, Her (BBB) Bruce And I Were There With Her. Along With Baptizing Her, The Chaplain Anointed Her With Oil, N Gave Ellen Her Last Rights.





I Hate This Part Of Life!!! And It Doesn't Get Any Easier To Bear Each Time We Have To Go Through The Death Of Another Loved One. I Know God Doesn't Give Us More Than We Can Handle, But With So Much Pain And Sorrow We Have No Control Over, Whatsoever, Is Happening All Around Us, It’s A Wonder How We Can Pick Ourselves Up And Go On Living With That Void. Ellen, You Live In Our Hearts And You Will Sadly Be Missed.





You May Be One Person In The World, But To One Person You Are The World!
If God Brings You To It, He Will Bring You Through It!
Your Faith Is A Gift From God!





ELLEN CLEVELAND
NOVEMBER 17, 1959 - JANUARY 12, 2008





3 Generations
MOM - ELLEN - DAD - PEGGY

MENU FOR THE NEXT 14 DAYS

I liked Webbmania's Monday Menu's so I decided to take it and post my own menu. Thanx Peg, you have neat ideas. When we went shopping, we bought food for the meals we plan on making. I decided because we have the food, I'd make a menu for 2 weeks. Whatta Ya Think?!

1) Tacos



2) Cornish Hen, New Potatoes, Carrots



3) Just Bratwurst or Italian Sausage on a Bun



4) Spare Ribs, Mash Potatoes, Green Beans

5) Leftovers or Soup & Sandwich



6) Catfish, Mac & Cheese, Brussels Sprouts




7) Taco Salad

8) Chicken Parmasean, Angel Hair Pasta



9) Tuna Helper




10) PorkChops, Applesauce, Mashed Potatoes,
Green Beans



11) Soup & Sandwich or Leftovers

12) Angel Hair, French Bread



13) Deer Meat Stew

14) Fish, Rice, Mixed Veggies



They all sound so yummy. Just because I listed them in this order, it doesn't mean we'll be eating them in this order. For instance, today we're having the deer stew. My honey wanted to make it since the deer meat is "fresh".

Ya know, making a menu similar to this makes it easier to plan meals. Otherwise we'd go through the Fridge and cupboards and stand back and look, and look, and no matter how long we look, we still don't know what to make. This is best for us and I know it's a good thing for families who don't have a lot of time to plan.

I'm not sure how I'll post future menu plans but this way seems to be working for us now.

'Bon Appetit'

LET's GO PINK . . . TOGETHER

I Chose To Have "Pink For October"
as My Post Sponsor





Web Sites Are Going Pink During The Month Of October
To Bring Attention To Breast Cancer Awareness Month,
Get People Talking About Breast Cancer, And Raise Money For
Research. But To Be Clear, Raising Money Isn’t The Primary Purpose
Of This Web Event. The Hope Is That We Turn Our Sites Pink
(In Whatever Way Works For Your Style)
Educate Ourselves About The Multiple Issues Related To Breast Cancer
Then Take That Knowledge And Tell Someone Else What We’ve Learned.





You Can Click Here To See
Those Of Us Who Have Already Gone Pink



There Are A Number Of Ways To Show Our Support For
Breast Cancer Awareness, Education, And Research
Here Are A Few Ways We, Together, Can Help
Make A Difference





Please Click On The Picture

Yoplait Is Collecting Lids To Save Lives®

For Every Pink Lid We Send In, Yoplait® Will
Donate 10 Cents To Susan G. Komen For The Cure® Up To
$1.5 Million AND Guarantee A Donation Of At Least $500,000





Please Click On The Picture

Shop @ The Peapod Studio’s
Cafepress Store For Unique Gifts


During The Month Of October, ALL Proceeds Will Be
Donated To Susan G. Komen For The Cure
In Memory Of Loved Ones Who Have Lost Their
Battle To Breast Cancer





Please Click On This Gift

The Breast Cancer Store
Has Several Pages Of Gifts For
Ourselves and Our Friends Which We Can Purchase
To Show Our Support For Breast Cancer Awareness



Christmas Is That Special Time Of Year
Where We Love Purchasing Those Special Gifts
For Those Special Friends



Tickle His Tummy With Your Mouse

The National Breast Cancer Site
Has A Plethra Of Information And Knowledge
We Can All Learn From And Support





Click To Be Aware

Some Important Facts About Something
We Don't Even Consider But Does Happen
... Men And Breast Cancer















In Honor & In Loving Memory Of
Our Mom, Grandmom, Sister, Sister-In-Law & Aunt
ELLEN CLEVELAND ~ 1959 - 2008

A GOOD HABIT TO START & KEEP

Hi There

As We All Know, October Is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. All Of Us Were Blessed With A Mom, And A Grandma We Cherish And Probably Would Do Anything For. Many Of Us, If Not All, Also Has An Aunt, Mother-In-Law, Sister, Sister-In-Law, Niece, Daughter, Daughter–In-Law, Step Mom Or Even Friends Who Have The Same. Now I Hear That Men Can Develop Breast Cancer Also. Every One Of Us, In One Way Or Another, May Have Had To Or Is Still Going Through The Painful Tragedy Of This Unforgiving, Wretched Disease.

If All Of Us Got Together And Started Another Tradition, Say Like Whenever We Go Online To Check Our eMail, Click On Our Saved Link (Below). It'll Take Us To The Breast Cancer Site. There, We Can Click On The Pink ‘Donate A Mammogram - It's Free’ Link To Fund A Mammogram For Underprivileged Women Who Would Be Experiencing The Same, Horrifying Tragedy. It'll Take No Effort At All! It Can Be Like Starting A New Habit We Can Get Behind, And Support! They Will Be Ever So Grateful To You, And It May Give You That 'Feel Good All Over' Feeling You Get When You Know You’re Touching Someone’s Heart.

The Breast Cancer Site Is Having Trouble Getting Enough People To Visit Their Site, Daily, To Meet Their Quota Of Donating At Least One Free Mammogram A Day. It Costs You Nothing To Donate, Their Sponsors/Advertisers Use The Number Of Daily Visits To Donate Mammograms In Exchange For Advertising On Their Site. While You're There, I’m Sure You’ll See Something Of Interest That'll Catch Your Eye!You Can Also Keep Track Of How Many Donations They Receive Daily And From Where!

BTW, When You’re In Your eMail, Maybe You’ll Want To Forward This To A Friend Or Two! Here’s To A New Tradition ! ! !


FOLLOW ME!

You May Be One Person In This World, But, To One Person… You Are The World!!
TOGETHER, WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE ! ! ! AM


In Honor & In Loving Memory Of
Our Mom, Grandmom, Sister, Sister-In-Law & Aunt
ELLEN CLEVELAND ~ 1959 - 2008