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Mel Ice

@melissaice

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Families, judges, advocates, donors, board members, church partners, law enforcement, and more joined us this week to celebrate our 14th Annual RISE Graduation. 🎓

We have the immense privilege of partnering with RISE, an incredible Tarrant county court program to provide relational support, advocacy, recreational events, and more for survivors of trafficking and sexual exploitation.

One of our incredible graduates shared, “God used the RISE program to turn my suffering into beauty. Through The Net I’ve experienced love like I’ve never known before.” 🤍

We celebrated, we cried, and we clapped our hearts out because everyone is worthy of the chance to rebuild their lives and these ladies are living examples of what that looks like! 👏💜

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This is 54! 🌹🥂✨

Last night, I celebrated another trip around the sun in my favorite place, my garden, surrounded by some of my favorite people in the world.

What an evening! Roses, candlelight, beautiful music, champagne, laughter and so much love!!

I planted my first garden just this year, never imagining how much joy this little piece of earth would bring me. And now, here I am at 54, celebrating life among the very things I’ve spent the last year nurturing.

Having my children beside me made the evening even sweeter. And looking around at the faces of friends who have shared so many seasons of my life, I was reminded just how blessed I am.

There are still so many things I want to experience, places I want to explore, people to love and dreams waiting to bloom.

Thank you to everyone who made my birthday so special and for all the beautiful messages, calls and love.

54, we’re just getting started! ❤️🌹❤️‍🔥🔥✨

📸: @emilyjolliffphotography

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Each fall, we get the privilege of hosting a graduation ceremony for the women who have completed the RISE program. It’s always the highlight of our year! 💜

Getting to reflect on each of their journeys and how far they’ve come is such a special occasion. In preparation, our ladies gathered to decorate their graduation caps. 🎓

Each cap decorated represents their journey of resilience, hope, and new beginnings. We couldn’t be prouder of their hard work! 🎉

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Fundraiser on the calendar = an excuse for a REALLY good dress! 🥂💖 Get Bekah’s look for your next night out because dressing for the occasion is half the fun!

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A little glimpse into our Net Staff Retreat last week 💛

The work of anti-trafficking can be emotionally draining and difficult, and we were so grateful to have the opportunity to get away as a team to rest + be refreshed. Over the course of 36 hours we spent time in worship + prayer, had an amazing evening with our Board members, and had a karaoke competition that turned into an all-out dance party. 🕺

It’s a privilege to get to walk alongside survivors as they rebuild their lives and we’re grateful for our incredible team that does this work day in and day out!

A special thank you to Kaynenn Parker and Meagan Coomes for leading us and to the beautiful @lapalmillatx for hosting us!

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Kind of a bittersweet one to post... we’re selling one of our Santa Fe houses.

Casa de Camino has done around $205k in revenue three years running, and it’s on track for the same this year. That puts it in the top 5% of all Airbnbs in Santa Fe County.

It goes on the MLS in the next couple of weeks. Wanted to put it out here first.

It’s a 6-bedroom we did a massive remodel on back in 2022, and it’s been an amazing house ever since. For our guests and for us.

And those numbers are with our family and friends using it a good amount. (Probably more than a smart investor would.)

We’re selling because an opportunity came up to buy another property, and this is how we make that work. We’re keeping its sister, @casa_de_ice , so we’ll still be out there plenty.

It’s a killer lifestyle property if you’ve been wanting a second home or a vacation spot in Santa Fe... one that pays for itself and then some.

It can come fully furnished and turnkey, with a great local crew already running it. Fully permitted for Santa Fe County.

If you or someone you know is sitting on 1031 money, it’s an easy place to put it too.

Happy to share the P&L.

Gonna miss this one.

Link in bio ☝️

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“We can do it ourselves.”

That’s what my girls told me this weekend when I went to tuck them in.

We were at my parents’ ranch in Cranfills Gap for dove season. Jim and his daughter Haden came along. Melissa was on a retreat and my mom was traveling, so it was just my dad, Jim, me, and three girls.

So they did it themselves.

Hauled their suitcases up to the loft. Picked their bunks. Brushed their teeth. Turned on the sound machines.

No tuck-in. No “did you brush your teeth?”

Nothing for me to do.

Next morning Jim and I were in the sunflower field by 6:45. I figured the girls would wake up, come find us, and we’d head back and make them breakfast.

They checked on us... and went back to cook.

Scrambled eggs. Pancakes. Eggs in a hole.

Running back and forth to my parents’ house for butter. Then milk. Then oil.

We walked in from the field to a set table. Nice dishes. Napkins. Silverware.

And three girls absolutely beaming.

Then JJ did the dishes.

I was proud. And honestly a little shocked. It was that Dumb and Dumber moment on the minibike... wait, you’ve had this the whole time??

The rest of the weekend Rosie drove everybody around in the E-Z-GO. Apparently my mom taught her on a trip I wasn’t on.

A few times I asked if they wanted to come shoot with me. Or go explore.

“No. We just want to drive. By ourselves.”

So they did. All 300 acres.

I keep looking at these two pictures.

Same girls. Same ranch. Behind the wheel both times.

Totally different.

In one, a pink Power Wheels Jeep. In the other, Rosie driving her sister around while I watch from the porch... or the field... or wherever they left me.

I’m so proud of them.

And I miss them. Even though they were a hundred yards away all weekend.

Every lesson, every “do it again,” every “you can do this”... all of it was pointing at this weekend.

The thing I’ve been working toward their whole lives is the thing I’m grieving.

Both are true. Same weekend. Same breakfast table.

The little girls in that pink Jeep are gone. That season’s over, and it’s not coming back.

I’ll keep offering to tuck them in.

For as long as they’ll let me.

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On the flight home from NYC and finally coming up from air reflecting on the MAGIC that was the 6th Annual Desert Rose Luncheon! 🌹⚡️🤠🎸

This year we traded a little country for a whole lotta ROCK ’N’ ROLL and y’all SHOWED UP. From the shopping preview party (pictures being posted soon) to the luncheon, fashion show and every rhinestone-covered moment in between, our hearts are so incredibly full.

To my partner in crime and co-chair @lsagather : there is no one else I’d rather dream big, laugh, panic, problem-solve and ROCK this thing with. 😂❤️ We did it, sister!!!

To our incredible vendor co-chairs @allie_turney & @kadee.blair — THANK YOU for taking the shopping experience to another level. The vendor lineup was absolutely INSANE, and the love, time and energy you poured into making it so special did not go unnoticed.

To our amazing sponsors @maverickgolfandranch , @yellowrosebykendrascott and Lucchese: THANK YOU for supporting this event and, most importantly, the mission of the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame.

And there are SO many people behind the scenes who made this crazy dream come to life: @flowersonthesquare , @westforkgardenmarket , @daddypopballoons , @mattgumley , the entire #RiverCrestCountryClub staff, @shagcarpetprops and truly a list that goes on and ON. You took every wild idea we threw at you and somehow made it even better. THANK YOU!!! 🌹🤘🏻

To every single one of our INCREDIBLE VENDORS who packed up their beautiful businesses, traveled, showed up and supported the Museum : WE LOVE YOU. You absolutely knocked it out of the park!! BLOWN away!!!

And to everyone who bought a table, shopped, sponsored, donated, volunteered, attended, shared, cheered us on or supported us in any way : YOU are why we do this.

At the end of all the roses, rhinestones and rock ’n’ roll, it’s about supporting a museum we love so deeply and celebrating the extraordinary women of the West.

Forever grateful. Forever proud. And still wondering how we’re supposed to top this one. 😂🌹⚡️

DESERT ROSE 2026… YOU ROCKED. 🤘🏻🌹
Until next year, cowgirls!!! 📸 : @ellmanphoto

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Last week I got to be a part of something very special with @thenetfw . For the past 3-4 years I’ve had the incredible honor of photographing some of the most brave and resilient women I’ve ever known. These are women who have made the brave decision to look a broken cycle in the face and knock it over each and every day. They are survivors of human trafficking and they are heros for every generation to come behind them. @thenetfw helps, loves, mentors, and brings humanity to their lives as they spend years in a government run program called Rise. It takes them 3-4 years to finish the very intensive program. Next month they graduate as the class of 2026. Last week we took their cap and gown photos. A lady once told me after looking at her photo in the back of my camera “Wow, I really do look healthy. That’s beautiful, I really have changed so much”. I had never heard that response before from a woman seeing herself in a photo. Another woman said “I’ve never graduated from anything. This is my first time” as we place a cap and tassel on her head. This is one of those organizations doing the good work when no one is looking. They don’t have to purchase caps, gowns, have a cap making party, have certificates, special lunches…etc, but they do because they are their biggest advocates. Don’t we all deserve to have someone to advocate and celebrate us? @melissaice (the founder) spoke with them and everyone in the room was brought to tears to hear her testimony and heart for these women as well as the women in her life. I am excited to see these ladies walk the stage next month. This type of photography is my most important work…sharing stories to bring awareness, people together and maybe even just to show someone that they really are healthier now than they have ever been before.

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🌟 North Texas Giving Day is TODAY! 🌟⁠

Today we invite you to give to The Net and join us in the fight against trafficking! ⁠

Every gift matters as we work together to ensure each and every survivor that walks through our doors can have the support they need to thrive.⁠

⁠Plus, we have $50,000 in match funds which means your gift goes even further to support TWICE as many survivors of trafficking. 🎊

⁠We need you with us! Every single dollar makes a difference.⁠

Head to thenetfw.com/givingday or the link in our bio to give a gift and support survivors!⁠ 💫

#northtexasgivingday #northtexasgivingday2026 #ntxgivingday #antitrafficking #supportsurvivors

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Most sisters catch up over coffee. Apparently we need choreography. 😂💃🏻

It’s always a treat when I get to spend time with my sister and her family. Before dinner she sent me a DM with this dance and said, “Should we learn this tonight?” Naturally my response was, “Duh. Like there was ever another option.”

Our families proceeded to walk directly through our “set” with absolutely zero regard for the performance happening in front of them. And honestly, at this stage of life, we wouldn’t have it any other way.

HAHA just kidding. We’d absolutely prefer a stage, professional lighting, and a captive audience. But you do what you can with what you have. 🩷😂

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Labor Day weekend in San Antonio with the fam.

I’ve spent a ton of time in that city over the years, but always with the band, which means load in, play, load out, and never actually see any of it. Hadn’t been there as a tourist in over a decade.

Man, it has changed.

A few takeaways:

1 There used to be a busy street running right in front of the Alamo. They closed it and turned it into a plaza, and now the whole thing finally makes sense. The Pearl used to be an old abandoned brewery and is now the coolest spot in the city. Even the Riverwalk was way cleaner and nicer than I remembered. Somebody down there decided to do it right.

2 The 10:30 musket firing at the Alamo is a funny must if you have kids. A guy in full 1830s getup walks the crowd through how a flintlock works and then fires it. Cheesy, but also kind of awesome.

3 The Pearl was rad. Farmers market, killer food hall, and a splash pad on the lawn that the girls stayed in until they were soaked. Hemisfair had one too the next morning. Love that they have those.

4 If you ask the girls, the highlight of the trip was the paletas the hotel had out. Popsicles beat the Alamo, apparently. (The Kimpton also had stuffed animals and a canvas teepee set up in the girls’ room when we checked in, which pretty much sealed it.)

5 For the last several trips the girls have been buying cheap squishies as their souvenir. Italy, France, Santa Fe, Colorado... every single time, a squishy. Ha, I finally put my foot down. No more squishies. They walked out of El Mercado with marionettes instead. Way better choice.

Funny to have spent that much time somewhere and never really seen it.

Might be my new favorite city in Texas.

Don’t tell Fort Worth.

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