Thankful Not just on Thursday

It seems like lately we have been saying thank you a lot.  That's what happens when you have wonderful and caring friends.  Today's post is going to try to help catch us up on the many things that give us reason to be thankful.  Bear with us, it could get a little long, but please be sure to keep reading to the end to see all the special things we have received.

We received some awards several weeks ago and have been very remiss in not posting about them.  Many thanks to Misaki and all the beautiful collies at All Things Collie for these three very special awards.

From Misaki:

Thank you, Misaki.  We are supposed to name six of our favorite things.  Our list could probably go on forever and forever, but here are some from the top of the list:  long walks on cool nights, tasty treats, mud (that would be Lightning and Ciara), tummy rubs,  steak!, and good friends like you.

From our beautiful collie friends:

We have received this Super Sweet Award before and just love it - don't those cupcakes look so yummy.

AND . . .

Now this award was created by the Collies and we think it is so special.  We thank you so much for sharing it with us.  It is meant for a blog that has touched hearts.  Especially at this time our hearts have been so touched by all of you.  We hope that all of our readers will accept this award as our thanks.

Frank the Tank had a Caption contest a while ago and we were one of the lucky runner-up winners.  The arrival of our prize couldn't have been more timely.  The mailman brought it to us right around the time we had to say good-bye to Thunder.

Thank you, Frank.  We couldn't agree more.  We love this beautiful ornament.

Today is the one month anniversary since Thunder crossed the Rainbow Bridge.  We have been inundated almost daily with beautiful cards, e-cards, e-mails, all filled with such tender and caring wishes.  We thank you all so very much. Words can never express how much it all means to us.

We would like to mention one card in particular which we received from Ms. Lisa and the pups from Rottover.  They made a very nice donation in Thunder's memory to Husky Haven of LA.  Husky Haven is a rescue sanctuary for Siberian huskies.  As Ms. Lisa wrote, "I hope that by helping other huskies in need, T.D.'s beautiful spirit can live on."  Tears fill our eyes but your kindness truly warms our hearts.

Our hearts were deeply touched when a package arrived from our good pals in Oregon: Sharla, Angel Sadie, Isabella, and Angel.  Their blog is called Beaded Tail and you can find them HERE.

The very sweet Ms. Sharla had her friend Edi make this ornament in honor of Thunder.  The photo above shows one side of the ornament and the business card for Edi's shop:  memoriesforlifesb.etsy.com.

Thunder's likeness is on the other side of the ornament.  It is just gorgeous; our photos don't do it justice. Thank you, dear friends.

Wait, there is more.  Another very special package arrived.  Ciara will tell you all about it because it is especially dear to her.

"Look - it's Mini-me.  Well, no, that's not right - it is Mini-Thunder.  That really sweet Molly the Wally and her Mum Terezia commissioned another very sweet lady, Ms. Lynne to create a Mini-TD.  We do not have any other Mini's and this one will be forever treasured."

"I have really been missing my TD and I still don't understand what happened to him.  I don't think this little guy is really Thunder, but I sure do like him a lot."

"Just like my TD he has the most gorgeous blue eyes."

Thank you, Molly, Mum, and Lynne - you made us all smile.

We give thanks every day for the wonderful friends we have.

Woos - Phantom, Ciara, and Lightning