A Very Hard Recovery

{This picture is from the day of her surgery.}

The procedure that Callie underwent on Wednesday was to have her eyes opened up. It is done in a way that it can be reversed and basically it makes it to where her eyes are open all the time. Eventually they should settle and she'll be able to get them mostly closed.

For now however it is frustrating to her. When she is tired she tries to get her hands on them to force them closed. And all through the day it is a challenge to keep her from scratching and grabbing at them. Because they won't close on her own, she can't blink. This means she has to have ointment put in her eyes every hour to keep them moisturized. Another thing that she's not so pleased about.

We are praying and fasting that she will start to find this easier to deal with. Please continue to keep Callie in your prayers.

With Eyes Wide Open

Callie's surgery went very well this morning. In fact she is already back home!
Her right eye looks awesome! You can tell that she can see so much better...and easier. It's sure nice to see those pretty eyes again. Her left eye wasn't opened quite as wide as the right because there is still a lot of healing to be done. You can see her retinal damage now and see just how good she has scratched her little eye.
We look forward to her continued healing and know that she will make good use of her "new" eyes! I will wait to post a picture until her eyes and the incisions have had a little more time to heal.
Thank you so much to everyone who continues to pray for our little Callie girl.
We love you all!

Surgery Day

{The night before her surgery}

By the time most of you read this, Callie will probably have already entered the surgery room. The procedure is scheduled to begin at 6:30 in the morning and last around two hours.

Please keep her in your prayers.

We pray that the surgeons will blessed as they work on her and that the procedure will bring about positive changes for our little California.

Her eyes will be "shockingly open" for the first few weeks but will gradually find a more natural position. She will definitely be wide eyed this Christmas! :)

There are so many positive things that can come from this surgery. Things that will benefit Callie and help her continue to progress in her rehabilitation therapy. We look forward to more great things for this special lady.

I will let you all know how the surgery goes.

Thank you so much for your prayers and concern.

Winner

The winner of the photo session is Felicia Eis at $40. Thank you everyone for bidding, congratulations Felicia.

Auction Time

Okay everyone! Today is the auction for the Photo Session With April Whiting Photography!

April Whiting Photography is based out of the White Mountains in Arizona. However if you are a valley resident, she will be in the Mesa area mid-December and would be happy to make arrangements to do a photo session at that time. This photo session will be one hour long and can be shot at up to two locations of your choice. You will also receive a CD with all of your photos.. I promise you they will be beautiful!

How this will work:

The starting bid will be $20. To make your bid, simply leave a comment. Bidding will continue until midnight tonight {Friday the 21st}.

The person with the highest bid at the close of the auction will make a donation in the amount of their highest bid directly to the "Kisses for Callie" PayPal account.

Please leave your email address in your comment so that I can contact the winner.

{TIP} When leaving your email address, don't use the @ or . symbols. To avoid those sneaky spam emails spell it out. For example: My email is ashley.broomall{at}yahoo{dot}com .

Good luck everyone! Remember this is a wonderful opportunity for anyone who has been wanting family photos for the holidays! And best of all, all the proceeds will be going to an excellent cause!

Let the bidding begin!

PHOTO SESSION WITH APRIL WHITING PHOTOGRAPHY

Okay you guys, I am so excited! I've been talking with April, of April Whiting Photography and she would like to offer a photo session as a fundraiser to benefit "Kisses for Callie"!

This photo session will last one hour and can be shot at two locations of your choice. The auction will take place Friday, the 21st of November on this blog. {Just in time for your Christmas cards!}

April is located in Show Low, Arizona but will be in the Mesa area towards mid December and has offered to meet with the winner at that time. She takes beautiful pictures and she is just such a sweet person!

She has been so generous to offer her time and talents for this cause and we would love to see a great response. So let your family and friends know!

Also, I am aware that many of Callie's followers do not have a Blogger or Google account. If you would like to participate in this auction you will need to have one of these. You do not have to start a blog. Simply open an account with Google. This way you will be able to comment.

See you all on Friday!

***If you have any questions or would like to donate anything in the future for "Kisses for Callie" please contact me at kissesforcallie{at}live{dot}com ****

There are also some great items still available for purchase . Click {here} to see!

One Last Thing

Thank you all for letting us be a part of the Kisses for Callie efforts! We will be happily handing this blog over to Callie's sister Ashley who will continue to do a wonderful job with Callie's fundraising efforts. We have one more thing to post before we say goodbye. We have a TON of visual aids, i.e. bulletin board / wall decorations for various educational themes that is fitting for 3rd - 5th grades. They are in excellent condition! They were graciously donated to the Kisses For Callie yard sale, but there was so much stuff there, and not an empty table to put them on, that I didn't want them to get ruined. I do not have a picture yet, but let me assure you, they're great! They are perfect for a teacher's classroom! Please email ibshopn@yahoo.com for further details if you're interested! $25.00 or best offer takes the whole load!

We got REAL Kisses From Callie!!

We would like to send out a HUGE thank you to all of those that supported our yard sale for Callie. Whether it was through donations of items, money, cards, shopping at the sale, sending baked goods, helping out at the sale, or just saying your prayers, we would like to thank you all from the bottom of our hearts!

We were surprised with a visit from Callie! That was the best thank you that anyone could've received. I can tell you first hand, that she gives a new meaning to butterfly kisses! She is such an angel baby!

Callie and her cousin Zach. He and his Cub Scout troop did an awesome job helping to organize the items. Great job boys!

Callie and her cousins Brittany and Zach. Callie loved playing "fetch" with the little dog. She would throw it and Zach would get it for her every time.

We were so blessed with a large amount of donations. Thank you all for your generosity.Everywhere Callie went, she had a huge following. She's a star! She is even walking with her mom's help! You go girl!
Even though I was grubby from the yard sale, Callie still showered me with kisses. This was the highlight of my day!

Callie and her Aunt Faun who drove all the way from Las Vegas to help us with the yard sale!

As much as we enjoyed the visit, it was time for Callie to return home to Show Low. We are so thankful for the surprise guys! It is truly a humbling feeling to be in her presence. We know that you still have a long road ahead, and our thoughts and prayers will continue to be with you. It has been an honor to be able to help out , even if it was in a small way. We hope that everyone will continue to help this family as they are amazing. We love you Callie, and send many, many kisses your way!

Kisses For Callie = Kisses From Callie

Callie doesn't even know it, but she is going to be helping a ton of soldiers in Iraq! All of the left over donations from the yard sale were donated to a military family support group in the west valley. They are organizing a huge rummage sale with proceeds going towards care packages for the soldiers. To check out their cause visit www.militaryfamilysupportgroup.com Great job Callie!!!

Shop til you drop!

The big day is tomorrow! We would love to see everyone there!!!! The pictures that were posted a few days ago do not do our donations justice as we have had MANY, MANY more come in! We'll see you bright and early!!!

Onesie Twosie::Just For Yousie!

Ever visited ONESIE TWOSIE (just for yousie)? Well you should-sie! Next Friday and Saturday, November 14th and 15th, the oh so generous mastermind behind these adorable onesies will be giving 30% of her proceeds to the "Kisses for Callie" fund. Awesome right?! All you need to do is put 'Kisses for Callie' in the message box when making your purchase. They are seriously the cutest onesies you ever saw so go check them out!

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!

IT'S ALMOST TIME! WE ARE SO EXCITED AND HAVE RECEIVED SO MANY GENEROUS DONATIONS! HERE'S THE LOW DOWN:

CALLIE'S BENEFIT YARD SALE
WHEN: SATURDAY NOVEMBER 8TH, 2008
TIME: 8 A.M. - NOON
WE WILL BE SETTING UP EARLIER THAN THAT, BUT WILL HAVE
EVERYTHING UP AND RUNNING BY THEN.
WHERE: THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS BUILDING ON OCOTILLO NEAR SCHNEPFF ROAD IN QUEEN CREEK, AZ
DIRECTIONS: IF YOU'RE COMING FROM THE US 60, EXIT SOUTH ON IRONWOOD AND YOU WILL DRIVE ABOUT 10 OR SO MILES. WHEN YOU COME TO OCOTILLO, TAKE A LEFT AND YOU WILL BE HEADING EAST. ABOUT A MILE DOWN THE ROAD, YOU WILL SEE THE CHURCH BUILDING ON YOUR RIGHT SIDE. JUST FOLLOW THE SIGNS AND YOU CAN'T MISS IT!
PLEASE NOTE THAT CHANGE IN VENUE FOR THE YARD SALE!
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR WONDERFUL SUPPORT! WE APPRECIATE YOU MORE THAN YOU'LL EVER KNOW! WE ARE STILL ACCEPTING DONATIONS AND CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOU ALL SATURDAY MORNING BRIGHT AND EARLY!
HERE'S JUST A PREVIEW OF SOME OF THE MANY, MANY ITEMS!!!!

BE THERE EARLY TO GET FIRST DIBS!!!

Round em up, head em out!

The highly anticipated yard sale date is closing in! November 8th is just around the corner. We have had a ton of people email and call saying they have items they would like to donate. A lot of them have been picked up / dropped off, but I know there are still a TON of people out there that would like to donate items to sweet little Callie's benefit yard sale. Please Please PLEASE contact us ASAP so that we can arrange pick up / drop off of your donations to get them ready for the sale. Thank you for your love support and continued prayers for little Callie! She is such an amazing little girl. Be sure to click on the links to the right to chart her progress! For yard sale donations please email kissesforcallie@live.com Thanks!

"Kisses for Callie" Raffle

The second "Kisses for Callie" raffle is taking place {HERE}. There is lots of great things and you can even get free raffle tickets just by spreading the word. Check it out to find out more!

Want To Help? Easy Schmeazy!

Have you been wanting to help Callie? All you need to do is go to OUR HAPPY NEST and leave a comment for the "Kisses for Callie" GIVEAWAY! For each person who comments, $1 will be donated to "Kisses for Callie" {up to $250} Plus you have a chance at winning some great items!

Welcome Cub Scout Pack 829

News flash! I am so excited to announce that Cub Scout Pack 829 is officially on board in the Kisses for Callie movement!!! They will be lending all of their hands to help make Callie's yard sale even bigger and better than originally thought! In addition to the yard sale, they will be adding a bake sale, can you say yum?!? Please keep those donations coming in, and thanks again Cubs! You're GRRRRRRRRRRRRRREAT!!!!!

Scroll down to view new items for sale!!

We are getting some great donations for the yard sale that will be held on November 8th in Queen Creek. I am going to start putting some of the items on Craig's List before the yard sale date. I am going to try and post them here first to give Callie's angels the first opportunity to purchase them. If you see something you like, please email us at kissesforcallie@live.com. Remember, all items have been donated, and all proceeds go to Callie and her rehabilitation, and they are located in Queen Creek. Thank you for your love, prayers and generosity. Please remember that we are still accepting donations as well, so please contact us at the same email address to arrange pick up or drop off of your items! Items will be deleted when sold.

NEW WITH TAGS ON NIGHTGOWN BY CROFT AND BARROW. IT IS A SIZE XLARGE. COTTON / POLY BLEND AND MACHINE WASHABLE! IT WOULD MAKE A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS GIFT! Retails for $24 Asking price $10.00















CK One eau de toilette by Calvin Klein 3.4 FL oz. New! It would make a wonderful Christmas gift! $20.00













Dog Rocker $ 5.00 approx. height from ground to seat is 17.5", approx. from ground to head 23.5". Gently used condition. asking $5.00




















Keep checking back often! I will be posting more items until the yard sale takes place! Soon these items will be put on Craig's List too, so act fast if you're interested. Remember, it's for an awesome cause!!! When items are sold, I will delete them!

Mountain Donations????

There is a wonderful gal from Show Low who will be coming to the valley this Thursday and will be bringing donations for the yard sale with her. She just told me that she still has some room left in her vehicle! Let's get it filled up for Callie! Please contact me ASAP so that I can get you in contact with her to drop off your donations! Thanks so much!!!

Raffle Plans

After our first "Kisses for Callie" raffle several people contacted me to offer donations for "our next raffle". To be honest I wasn't planning on a second raffle. But we have had so many people asking if they could donate things for one that I have decided to plan another. I am not sure of the date yet but will let you all know when something is set. If you would like to donate any items for this raffle please contact me as soon as possible at ashley.broomall@yahoo.com. You guys are awesome!

We HEART Football Fans!

Some sweet family friends had the idea to circulate a donation jar for "Kisses for Callie" at last weekend's home Football game. So many generous people contributed and I just wanted to say Thank You to each of you! We continue to be amazed by all of the wonderful people in our community as well as all over the world! This donation jar will continue to be passed at all Show Low's home Football games. Please know that your generosity is SO appreciated!

The date has been set!

The yard sale date has been set for Saturday, November 8th, from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. It will be held in Queen Creek. We are down to two locations and will have it finalized very soon! Please mark your calendars now, spread the word, and please, contact us with those donations! Thank you for your support. Our response so far has been wonderful, but we are still in need of many more donations! Thank you for being one of Callie's Angels!!!

You are awesome!

I have to send a big THANK YOU out to all of Callie's fans! You guys are awesome and really stepping up. We have received so many offers for donations and look forward to many more! Please remember that we have several volunteers in the White Mountains to collect your donations and bring them down to the valley for you! I am also happy to pick up your donations here in the East Valley as well. We are gathering some really cool items and services to be auctioned off too, however we are still graciously accepting more! I will have more concrete details as to the date and location of the yard sale that I will post some time this week. Thanks again and please remember to spread the word!

Any donations in the Show Low area???

Good news! We have someone willing to bring donations down to the valley from the Show Low area, and she has even graciously offered to store them in her garage until she comes. She will be making the trek on Thursday, October 9th. If you are interested, please email your contact information to Lisa and Brittany at kissesforcallie@live.com and we'll get your information to her, and her information to you so you can coordinate getting your items to her! (wow, hopefully that made sense!) Thanks so much! You are all so awesome and couldn't be contributing to a better cause!!! If there is anyone else out there willing to bring down donations from the White Mountains or any other area, please let me know and we'll get it posted!

September 30th::Got Dinner Plans?

Callie's older sister, Amber, is a manager for the Arby's in Show Low. They have graciously offered to donate 20% of their sales from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 30th. So if you don't already have dinner plans, why not stop by and enjoy a tasty meal at Arby's?

(Show Low location only.)

Calling All Angels

Hello Family, Friends and Friends to be! Welcome to "Kisses For Callie", a blog set up in honor of sweet little Callie Jayne Butler. To read her story visit her big sister Ashley's blog here.

Callie's cousin Brittany McNeil has an upcoming Evening of Excellence program with her church youth organization. As her value project she has chosen to organize and carry out a benefit yard sale with all proceeds benefiting Callie. This blog was designed to get the word out and "call all angels" in an effort to encourage them to clean out those closets and give to a worthy cause! The exact date, location and details are still being hammered out, however we will keep you posted.

For now, please gather up your items and contact Brittany or Lisa McNeil at mailto:mcneilfamilyof6@msn. We will make arrangements to pick up your items, or if you can drop them off that is also terrific! Monetary donations are also gladly excepted. While many of you may live in the White Mountains, please remember that this sale will be held sometime in late October, so if you are anyone that you know will be traveling down to the valley before them, please send your items with them!!!

If anyone has any new items that they would like to donate for an online auction, please let us know as well!

Please post this link on your blogs and send out emails to everyone that you know. We want this to spread like wildfire! The more donations we receive, the more we can help relieve the financial burden being felt by her family at this time, which is the last thing that we want them to worry about.

There is also a link that is set up by Callie's sister Ashley which allows you to make an online donation via Paypal.

Thank you for your love and support. More information will follow soon!

Love,
Brittany

Callie's Story

Callie Jayne Butler is a beautiful little girl from Show Low, Arizona. She is the youngest in a family of 15! She was born to be an independent spirit and loves to go about her day doing all the things she loves!

On September 8th, 2008 little Callie Jayne {then 19 months old} was tragically backed up over by a family friend in her parent's driveway. Callie was rushed to the local hospital and from there she was air-evacced to Phoenix Children's Hospital. The outlook from the doctors was grim. Callie's head had endured all the pressure of the SUV as it backed up over her tiny body. She had multiple skull fractures, a blood clot and air bubbles on her brain.

She underwent emergency surgery to repair as much damage as possible. Callie remained comatose for weeks. Her family never gave up hope for her. They knew the strength that little Callie possessed and her love and vigor for life. They also have a very strong faith in their Heavenly Father and His ability to work miracles in the lives of those who believe in Him.

This blog was created to support and follow Callie through her amazing recovery.

Thank you so much for joining with us in supporting this sweet little girl.

Thank You!

Thank you so much for your generosity and support!

We look forward to seeing you at the concert!

We are not sending out physical tickets for the concert. Instead we will be admitting from a guest list. If you purchased more than 1 ticket we will make sure to note that you will be bringing a guest. (Your name will be listed as it was on your ticket purchase unless otherwise requested.)

If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me at ashley.broomall{at}yahoo{dot}com.

Thank you!