we did it!

zippity doo dah, zippity aye!  my oh my what a wonderful...

oh hey!  don't mind me.  just doing a little jiggity-jig before I break the news to you.

dum da dum dum dom!

I'm excited to announce that we won the photo contest over at i heart faces!  woohoo!  and I say "we" because I could have NEVER in a million years pulled it off without the help, support and encouragement from all of you.  you guys are the absolute best!

when I initially entered my photo for the contest, being the dim bulb that I am, I failed to realize that it was a "people's choice" contest-- which meant that the 'general public' would be voting on the photo submissions, instead of a judge.  you see typically, i heart faces introduces a guest judge (usually a pro photographer), who then chooses the winning photos.  so if I would've read the article in full, instead of skimming through it, I would've caught on that this wasn't the case for this particular challenge.  but, in true Jessica Kesti fashion, I always have to go about things the hard way.  so I'm a little slow, okay?  bearing nine children certainly hasn't come without repercussions.

I then went back and forth, up and down, around and around as to whether or not I should stay in the contest or simply bag it all together.  but then I figured why not?  by golly, I had just as good a chance as anyone.  basically, what it boiled down to, was a popularity contest.  and duh!  I already know that I'm like super popular and all that, chhh ;) so I posted a link to the contest on my blog, encouraging you to vote.  after that, I was all whatever happens, happens.  I didn't really care.

well, out of curiosity, I checked back later that day to see what the vote count was up to on my photo and just about pooped my pants!  I mean I did poop my pants! (sorry, no photographic evidence.) holy guacamole, I was like in 5th place!  so I cranked the heat up a notch by posting the link on facebook (thanks to those of you who shared the link:), hounding friends and family with text messages demanding they vote (I hope you guys still like me:) and instant messaging facebook friends (I promise I won't pester you again:) the outpouring of support was amazing!  little by little, the votes kept trickling in, until all of the sudden, we were up on top.  and well, the rest is history.  I'm pretty sure we won by a landslide.

and so, once again, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.  it just goes to show that when everyone teams up and pulls together, you actually can move mountains.  to me, it was a definite sense of accomplishment.  the end.  btw, I've officially retired from ever doing that again.  talk about exhausting, whew.

here's the winning photo.  love the school marm charm:

and hey, what do you know?  the dress Phoebe has on in this picture just so happens to be from 1crown3tiaras Boutique!  what a co-wink-a-dink!  if you haven't yet entered the giveaway, you can do so here.

thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!

-jessica