Mural, Mural, on the Wall...

When thinking about how we wanted to decorate the nursery, Michael was convinced that we should have a mural painted on one of the walls. "A nature scene; you know, a tree, some water and grass, that type of thing." I was open to the idea, and became more inspired after we found a crib bedding set that I fell in love with. The theme of the comforter and corresponding wall hangings is numbers. Something about the fact that it wasn't sports, Disney, or baby-camoflauge really appealed to me. "Hey," I said with an idea that flashed across my face. "What if we painted sheep above the crib, and then with the numbers theme, it could be, like, 'counting sheep'?!" Michael consented to the idea, though did not agree with my idea of writing "sleepy sheepy" underneath the soaring livestock. (Someone just might sneak in unexpectedly with a paint pen and do some graffiti in the middle of the night...I'm just sayin'...)

Our friends Zach, Kia and Joe are amazing artists. Joe works as a graphic artist and Zach and Kia are just uber-creative and detailed. We asked them if they thought the project sounded like fun, and the answer was a resounding "yes." We had the three of them over for an idea session, and we looked from one to the other as idea after idea poured out of their beautiful minds. It was like watching a tennis match.

The result of countless hours of brainstorming, painting, detailing blew me and Michael away. It was exactly what we envisioned. Springboarding off of the "counting sheep" idea, we decided to expand to a nursery-rhyme theme, incorporating numbers in inconspicuous ways. We envisioned a wall that could tell stories. Details that would keep you looking, a la "Goodnight, Moon" (I always looked for that little mouse on every page), or Richard Scarry books with all of the characters hiding in the windows. I picture our son growing up in this room, pointing excitedly to Jack and Jill, the Three Blind Mice, and the numbers that trailed the kite string. He'll stand next to the closet where a barrell of monkeys are hanging off of the edge, and we will count how many monkeys tall he is. The numbered sheep will dance over the moon that glows above his crib, as will a runaway cow.

Zach, Kia and Joe finished the nursery on Monday night, and presented their precious work as their gift to us. I can't think of a more generous, precious gift, and my mind frequently wanders to the day when we show our son pictures of our friends painting his room.