The Ship is Headed Back

The Ship is Headed Back

We are somewhere between Santorni, Greece and Naples, Italy headed home. It is a beautiful sunny day and everyone is out getting one more day of sun on the ship. We have had a wonderful time celebrating 25 years of marriage, resting, and playing. We called David and Daniel both a few days ago. David wasn't able to respond to us but Kim said he smiled. While this makes us sad, we are grateful all the news we have received so far regarding David has been good. He has been complaining of an upset stomach for a few days so please pray he feels better.

Daniel has been struggling with David's losses. It has been very difficult not being there to support Dan. Thankfully we rallied some of his good friends and ours around him. Thank you for keeping him also in your prayers. We return home Monday night and are looking forward to seeing our boys.

Just a short one to update you and to again thank you for your prayers for our family. The picture of us riding the donkey is in Lindos, Rhodes (Greece). Acts 21 says that Paul stopped in Rhodes on his way to Jerusalem. Tradition holds that he stopped at the town of Lindos. The picture of the blue dome is a church in Santorini, Greece.

On our way to Athens

Its 10:00 PM and we wanted to give a quick update. We have heard from several folks that David is doing great. Kim, a friend and aid who works with him at school and in our home said David was walking at school with his walker, laughing, and having fun. He is still not eating as much and sleepy. Keep praying. Tomorrow we land in Athens and have a full day planned. We are feeling rested and having a blast. Truly, It is Well with Our Souls!

Greetings from Sicily!

We are in Mesena, Italy (Sicily.) The ship is amazing and we feel like a King and Queen. Brenda celebrated her 4* birthday yesterday. Men from around 7 different countries sang Happy Birthday to her. Communication back home is limited so we feel disconnected from David and how he is doing. Continue to pray for him and his comfort. We have an incredible staff and we totally trust them. We have been texting Daniel which has been good. Our bandwidth on the ship is limited so we may not be able to upload pictures until we get home. If you want a personal viewing of all 1,569 pictures with commentary please ask Brenda.

Great day touring Rome

Today has been a busy day touring Rome. Yesterday we met a couple who will be sailing on the same cruise we are taking (also celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary) and invited them to join us on our tour. We explored the Catacombs, The Vatican (Museum and St. Peters,) The Colosseum, The Appian Way, The Circus Maximus (where the chariot races took place,) and more. Our feet are tired but we had a wonderful day. We are getting a little rest and then out for some more yummy Italian food. Please continue to pray for Daniel and David while we are away. We haven't heard anything from home so we are hoping no news is good news.

Warren & Brenda in front of St. Peter's

The Colesseum

We are in Rome!

We made it! We had a rough start due to President Obama making a stop in Philadelphia. Our flight was held for almost an hour. Thankfully our luggage made it and we had a wonderful day today in Rome. We are exausted but very happy to be here. We just chatted with David on Skype. He wasn't very responsive but Laura said he smiled the whole time talked to him. Here are a couple pictures. Pray we sleep well.

Arrivederci!

Tomorrow at 3:30 we leave for Rome. We are so ready for some time away. If you want to track our journey you can click on: Warren and Brenda's Cruise. It will show you our cruise and our itinerary. I will give quick updates from this blog regarding our trip and David as I get information from home. Here is a picture of our ship:



David has had a good day. We were told he enjoyed school and tonight he ate a great meal. Right now he is watching Lion King with Dan Edsall. He has not been that anxious today which is such a blessing. The Nurse Practitioner who works with Dr. Mink at the Batten's Center in Rochester has been wonderful to work with. She is helping us tweak David's medications and his care.

Well still have a few things to get packed. My clothes are all sitting folded and ready to be packed in the suitcases. Brenda is still working on getting just the right outfits selected, folded, and packed away. Thanks to all who have prayed this trip would actually take place. We love you all.

The Weekend, Sept. 12 2009

Just a quick update. We are still tweaking David's meds. He is still struggling from 5PM to 9PM. Please pray for us to find the right amount of medication and the right time span between each dose to keep David content and able to enjoy life. This morning I took him out for breakfast and we had a good time. He has been loosing weight (12-15 pounds) so we are supplementing with drinks like Ensure to keep his calories up. We had an Occupational Therapist and Physical Therapist visit our home to help us with finding some adaptive equipment to help in his care. We need a wheelchair, power lift once he can't stand, a hospital bed, and some other things. They were very helpful.

We had a surprise visit from our son, Christopher, and his girlfriend, Brittney, last night. They drove from Boston to surprise us and just encourage us. I wrote in my journal this morning that it was like a very bright light in the midst of the dark pathway we have been walking. They came to hang out with Daniel and to just help. We are blessed to have very special sons. Often I ask you to pray for David, but please pray for Daniel and Christopher as well. It is very difficult to see their brother struggling. We also have been guilty of pouring all our energy into David, leaving the other two to fend for themselves. This is not good!



Tuesday we leave for our cruise. Everyone is stepping up to the plate to help care for David and help with Daniel. God is so good.