Tigie Tragedy...........

Tigie is an important part of our family.  When Sawyer came to live with at 4 months of age; he came from a great deal of chaos.  He NEVER smiled; and was quite difficult to engage at times.  Well, we had these 2 stuffed tigers that he came to adore; one was brown and one was white. (We bought these 2 tigers at a truck stop in Little Rock, Arkansas during one of our trips to see Tammy's family over Christmas when we were driving from Albuquerqe to Maryland/Virginia).  Over time, he let the brown one go, but has hung onto to the white one; whom he named "Tigie" when he learned to talk. Tigie went everywhere with him.  He went on visits with his birth parents to the CPS office, he went to PB&J (an agency in Albuquerque where parents and children (who are in foster care)) go for parents to receive hands-on parenting instruction, and on every transport where CPS was involved.  In fact, the transporters would not even transport Sawyer if Tigie was not with them. 

Well, as time has gone on; and Sawyer is forever ours, both Sawyer and Tigie's role have changed tremendously.  I am happy to report that Sawyer smiles (A LOT) and although he can be difficult at times (as any 3 year old is); and he makes me so darn proud.  This little guy has undergone quite a transformation over the last 3 years :)  Along with the changes in Sawyer have come the changes in Tigie's role in our lives.  Tigie is no longer used as a "crutch" for traumatic events, but as a companion through thick and thin.  Tigie goes out with him to feed the animals on the farm, eats dinner with us most nights, and is always a companion with Sawyer in bed.  Before we leave to go anywhere or before anyone goes to bed at night, Tigie is located :)

So...an event such as the one that occurred yesterday was quite disturbing....Tigie has a tag that Sawyer rubs while he is going to sleep and his finger gets caught in the tag at times.  Well....this happened upstairs and Robert (our 15 year old) yanked the tag and ripped it completely off...I heard screaming and crying and went running upstairs to a red-faced distraught little boy saying "PUT IT BACK ON!!!!"  He was crying so hard that I thought he was going to hyperventilate!  It took me a few minutes to determine why he was so upset; both because Sawyer was so hysterical and I think that Robert was afraid to tell me-lol. 

Well...Tammy saved the day.  She made a make-shift tag for Tigie out of ribbon and sewed it on Tigie.  She even told Sawyer that the tag had a warranty and could be replaced at any time if needed. Thank God for my girl and her ability to fix things....