Our Story

Hi friends! We are (now) the Furrow Five! Many of you know me as Nikki, the proud wife of Dan and full-time mommy of our boys, Jacob (6) & Matty (5), and new baby girl, Stella!

We have started this blog up again to document and share our journey as we move our family to England! But first, a recap of how we got here!

Our story began in Grayslake, IL where Dan & I met as juniors at Grayslake High School and started dating our senior year. We went to Northern Illinois University together and after graduation, we both began our careers in Lincolnshire: Dan at Quill and me at Stevenson High School, soon followed by the American Cancer Society.

We tied the knot in Lake Forest on May 26, 2007 - our 7th dating anniversary - and moved into a cute one bedroom apartment a block from Main Street in Libertyville. We LOVED it there!

After one year of wedded bliss, we found out we were expecting our first baby, a boy! We quickly began our house hunt leading to the perfect first home in Gurnee, close to our parents. Soon after moving, we welcomed Jacob Robert on September 4, 2009 closely followed by Matthew Lawrence on June 9, 2011.

Our hands were full, but our hearts full of joy as we began raising two little boys! And just when we thought we had the hang of it, an opportunity arose that would shake things up, but we knew we were ready for...

After turning down several relo opportunities in the past, we finally decided to accept a position that would move us to Atlanta, Georgia. It was a tough decision, but it was the right opportunity at the right time!

We love Georgia! We love the southern hospitality, the peaches, the WEATHER, the abundance of outdoor family events, the proximity to many desirable southern destinations such as Disney World, Nashville, Asheville, the coast, Savannah, Charleston... just to name a few, all at our fingertips!

We landed in an incredible house in a fantastic neighborhood walking distance from the playground, pool and clubhouse. We met many great folks from our neighborhood and school and after a year, felt settled and happy with our new home.

We started second guessing that we would ever move back to Chicago, like we originally planned...