We met at our first duty station Hill Air Force Base. It was only a few months after Kristi got there that we started dating. We dated for about a year and a half and got married in October of 2008.
Shortly after that, we moved to England to be stationed at Royal Air Force Base Lakenheath. In England, we were able to easily and cheaply travel, so we went all over Europe! We saw monasteries, castles, oceans, and seas- and so much in between. During this time, Kristi was also able to complete her Bachelor's Degree in Alternative Medicine!
We departed England in 2014, and at that time, we decided it was time for Kristi to separate from the military. We spent a year in Boise, ID where Tom was stationed, then moved to St. Charles, Missouri to be closer to family.
We both started at Boeing as F15 mechanics in 2015. Kristi eventually moved into engineering, and Tom moved to a training execution position while also pursuing schooling. In the meantime, Kristi started a small business offering healing modalities (using her degree in alternative medicine) and also got Yoga certified.
We realized we were struggling to get pregnant. With Kristi's role as a Sr. Manager over a fighter jet production line during Covid, and trying to keep a business running on the side, it was putting a lot of stress on her. With a lot of consideration, she closed her business and moved positions to reduce stress for the both of us.
Although we are still unable to conceive, we are much happier and have cultivated a better relationship with each other and those who are important to us because of this decision. We have created a good home, a good financial basis and sound health practices where we would make good parents to raise a child who will be loved and cared for to the best of our ability.
We both love to workout at the gym. We find that it’s a pivotal part of our stress management, and we just genuinely feel better afterwards. We also like to go do different things around the city such as; paddle boarding, street concerts, festivals, comedy events, holiday events, park walks, Yoga events and food truck events to name a few. We are usually traveling at least 3-4 times a year, and sometimes every year, but definitely every other year we will do a relaxing vacation to somewhere like Cancun.
About Kristi
I am from a small town in Wisconsin called Menomonie. I grew up in the country, my parents were mechanics, and the rest of my family are farmers. I was not in sports or extra curricular activities when I was younger, so I spent my time getting to know the natural environment and picking up skills from my family. About 6 months after I graduated high school, I joined the Air Force and became a F16 Fighter Jet mechanic and moved to Hill Air Force Base Utah. I met the love of my life within just a few months of being stationed at Hill AFB.
I love to read! I love to read books on Philosophy, psychology and preventative health. I like to color and do paper crafts, like making my family cards and scrapbooking. I have a potter's wheel and kiln at my house and like to make pottery. I make dishes for our home and homemade gifts for friends. I love to garden and have an apothecary with lots of teas and herbs that I have grown from my garden. I am attuned as a Reiki Master, Angelic healer and trained BUTI yoga instructor. I invest a lot of my time in various healing modalities.
We have several pets that we absolutely adore! Our first is Porter (10 year old doggy, 85 lbs), she is an older chocolate lab who is still excitable and sweet, she loves to eat! Our second is DIPA (8 year old doggy, 55 lbs), she is a rescue from a shelter and is the sweetest dog we know- big cuddler and very attentive to us. Then we have our kitty, Riley (5 years old, 12 lbs). She is a beautifully leopard spotted Bengal cat- she is sweet but reserved. And three chickens (4 years old) HENrietta, Amelia EGGhart, and Dodo. They are the biggest cuddlers we have, want to be held and loved and smothered in cuddles!
About Tom
I was born just outside of Cleveland, OH, but my dad was transferred jobs, and we moved to South Carolina just a few months later. Growing up in SC, I focused a lot of time on sports, mostly golf, soccer and football. I was always fascinated with the military growing up, and after a short time in college I decided school wasn’t for me at the time. I joined the Air Force in 2006 as a fighter jet mechanic even though I knew nothing about mechanics or airplanes. I muscled my way through training and ended up getting stationed at Hill AFB just outside of Salt Lake City. While at Hill AFB I picked up skiing, traveled to great new places, made some life long friends and met my beautiful wife.
I love to play hockey throughout the year; more so in the winter as there are more rinks open. I've played on several teams and also play pick up hockey which is a drop in and play type of hockey. I also play golf in the summer, sometimes just with friends and sometimes on a league.
