David and Melissa in the Coliseum in Rome....can't imagine what it must be like to be standing where Christians were martyred so many centuries ago..JPG)
St. Peter's Square and Rome from the Dome of St. Peter's Basilica.
Duomo, Giotto's Tower and the Baptistry in Florence.
David and Melissa in the Tuscan countryside. 
Actually, not much happened that would have to stay there! Steve was invited to speak to a sales group at the national physical therapy convention regarding research he has done with the Hydroworx underwater treadmill. I decided to tag along. Besides the meetings he attended and his lecture, we enjoyed strolling the Las Vegas strip and exploring the gorgeous hotels and shopping areas. The hotels are really fantastic, each having their own theme. We thoroughly enjoyed our few days of spending time together, relaxing and exploring.
What a treat to be in Rome for your 25th birthday. This will be one you will never forget. Speaking of never forgetting....we will never forget the night you were born. We were out with friends at a restaurant celebrating Valentine's Day when my contractions were just too strong to ignore anymore. Our friends took care of Heather and Shauna and your Dad and I were settled in at the hospital by about 8:00pm and you were born at 9:20pm. Melissa, you have been a great blessing in our lives. Your sweet nature, innocence, loyalty and faith are so precious to all who know and love you. You are a godly young woman and wife and will be a great mother someday. We love you Melissa.
Here's Melissa, David, Jim, Benjamin and Jonathan Hollon at the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai where they skied indoors. They are visiting David's brother, wife and sons who work overseas and they have met along with David's parents in Dubai, United Arab Emirates for a few days.
Melissa and David will then go on to Italy for two weeks. Today they will be going on a desert safari (whatever that is?!) and hopefully will be sending photos and keeping us posted along the way. Below is a photo of the world's tallest building in Dubai.
Here is Benjamin Hollon, David and Melissa's sweet nephew. He is so cute!
Happy 39th Valentine's Day to my one and only. Lots of love to all my friends and family as well. Hope this day finds you praising God for all our blessings and especially for His love for us.
Last weekend was fabulous....because I got to spend it with my daughters! We had a girls weekend hosted in Houston by Melissa. Heather and Shauna went to Houston on Friday evening and a little pampering was in order in the form of manicures and pedicures followed by a long wait on dinner at Cyclone Anayas. Steve and I had a Christian Faculty Network banquet Friday evening so I didn't make it down on Friday. On Saturday morning they drove out from Houston to Cypress and I came in from College Station to meet them at the Houston Outlets where we did some very serious bargain shopping. We then headed back to Melissa's followed by a delicious dinner at the Grand Lux topped off by homemade style strawberry shortcake--so yummy! It was getting late so we decided on a 10:25 pm movie and stopped off first at Starbucks for a little "stay awake" coffee (peppermint mocha). The movie "Slumdog Millionaire" was really a good choice. Sunday morning we worshiped together at Melissa's home church, Second Baptist, then enjoyed brunch at Buffalo Grille. We had a great time sharing, laughing, eating and just being girls. 
