Giving up the inky

I have been struggling on when to take the inky away for a long time.  Finally I decided that it needed to be his decision and when he was ready.  A few months ago we took him in to Build a Bear to show him that he could put his inky in the stuff animal and still have it just couldn't suck on it.  I told him whenever he was ready to let me know.  I added it to our weekly conversation on Sunday night when we have our family counsel and one Sunday I asked him if he was ready and he told me yes.  I about fell off my chair.  I asked him how many more nights and he told me 4 because he is 4 so we made a paper chain and every morning he ran down and took one off.  On the big day, he was acting out like crazy and I finally took him upstairs in my room and laid down with him and talked to him.  I asked him if the reason he was being so naughty was because he was getting rid of his inky he said yes and started sobbing.  I felt horrible.  I told him we didn't have to do it unless he wanted to and he said he still wanted to.  We said our first of many prayers for comfort for both of us and asked that he would be brave.  Later that night when Jarod got home, we took him.  I am not sure who was more sad me or him.  It was so hard but I was so proud of him!  He did really well!  I was near tears the entire time but held it together.  When we got home, he was really excited until it was bed time.  He cried and I held him for about an hour.  We prayed, told stories and read books.  Anything to keep his mind of it.  Finally he asked me to take his horse, shooting star downstairs and he made him a bed with Jace's favorite stuff animal lamby.  Then we went back to bed and he told me when he looked at shooting star it made him sad because it reminded him of his inky inside the horse.  Then he wanted Jace to come and lay down with us and with all of us in bed, he told me he thought he could go to sleep now.  This was about an hour later and he did and has not looked back once since then but every night he prays or has me pray that he can go to sleep without his inky.