They say youth, immaturity, financial problems and their son's diagnosis with a life-threatening medical condition were too much to take.

But even after divorcing and pursuing other relationships, they continued to grapple with their son's condition, Duchenne's muscular dystrophy, a disorder that usually results in death from respiratory failure by age 25. And in the process, the parents realized they were meant to be parents. Together.

So when their son Tyler, a 10-year-old history buff, wrote the Make-a-Wish Foundation, which grants wishes for children with life-threatening medical conditions, and said he wanted to go to Hawai'i to see the USS Arizona, the Schoups, who live in Whitehall, Pa., were thrilled with the news that the foundation decided to grant the wish and send the whole family on vacation.

Christine and Dirk, 32 and 38, respectively, also had a surprise for their kids, Tyler and 12-year-old Alyssa: They were going to remarry in Hawai'i.

It was something Christine, a nursing student, and Dirk, a heating and air-conditioning installer, wouldn't have been able to afford on their own. Not only was their son's wish coming true, but so was theirs.

"We were a family coming back together," Christine said.

When Rosemary Hill, a licensed officiant who runs My Hawaii Wedding (www.myhawaiiwedding.com) learned of their story, she threw in some extras, such as a cake and champagne, prints and a photo album and a videographer who donated his time.

"This couple just really touched me," Hill said. "I choked up through part of their wedding."

So did the Schoups.

At their wedding Jan. 5 at Wai'alae Beach Park, perhaps the most touching part was when each member of the family took different-colored sand and layered it in a vase.

"It just signified our family coming back together again after so many years and so many things happening," Christine said.

The rest of the week became something of a family honeymoon, with a trip to the Arizona memorial, a helicopter ride, a visit to Sea Life Park, a lu'au and a visit with Marines, who presented Tyler with a flag that had flown over the Arizona.

Something about the trip changed everyone in the family.

"Mom and Dad getting married, that was great," Alyssa said. "I don't know how to put it into words — unbelievable. I hoped they would get back together, but I never really thought they would."

Alyssa, a sixth-grader, also enjoyed flying a simulator at Marine Corp Base Hawai'i, riding a Humvee, looking inside of a helicopter, eating in the mess hall with other Marines, talking to women in the military and thinking maybe that's something she'd like to do someday.

Tyler, a fourth-grader, liked seeing things from his history books come to life and having his wishes come true.

Their dad, the groom, said the wedding was a culmination of the build-up of the trip and the reality of starting over.

"I wasn't overly convinced that splitting up was the right thing to do in the beginning anyway," he said. "And I wasn't really able to move on. We're older, wiser and we have a real strong faith in God. We let him run our lives, which is something we didn't do in the past."

This time around, they're not about to give up, he said.

"We'll have no problem making it."