I have a protective order against me in the state of tennessee against my wife she won't let me see the kids we r still married what do I need to do

You will need to file a Petition for Parenting Time, and tell the Court you are subject to an OP as to mother, but you want to see the kids. If the OP is also on the kids, that battle will be a lot tougher. If it's just on mother, you just have to have a parenting plan that guarantees you won't be able to contact or see mother in any way. You don't want seeing your kids to send you to jail on an OP violation. Having your mother speak with her may also be a 'third party contact' which violates your OP also. Be very careful. Now that the Court is involved, it will have to stay involved to the end. Serving a Petition for Parenting Time, through proper service, is not a violation, but any other contact probably is. At any court date, you'll need to let the officers know about the OP and sit as far from her as physically possible.