Zoey's First Breath

Once we received the call on May 12th, we rushed to pick-up Hope one last time and brought her to Hutzel Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. This time, we got smart and stopped to get Chick-fil-A in the hospital lobby before heading up to Labor & Delivery. Each time we made it to the hospital there was one question – who would care for her sweet son during the laboring process… It took about two hours for Hope’s son’s father to come to the hospital to pick him up this time, and Jordan was left in charge. Meanwhile, Hilary and Hope were upstairs getting all checked in and ready for delivery.


When we began the adoption process with Hope, we greatly looked forward to the rare opportunity of being present for the baby’s arrival. This was something we agreed upon at that very first conference table meeting. She believed that witnessing the birth was important for the bonding experience, as did we. Little did we know that we would quickly become her support people, through each and every step of labor. We pleaded and prayed to God for wisdom to know how to encourage her. The pain and the agony were overwhelming to see as Hope brought this little precious life into the world for us to have the wonderful privilege of raising as our own daughter.

Looking back on this now, we cannot help but liken Hope’s great sacrifice to that of Jesus Christ. He who suffered in pain and agony that we may not die spiritually, but be adopted into His family and have eternal life. Unfortunately, adoption has become taboo in many cultures. Often times, as soon as a birth mom decides to venture down this route, they can almost immediately see their prior support system vanish from all angles. Likewise, Jesus was abandoned on the cross to die by even His closest of friends. As we watched her labor and go through this incredibly emotional process, we knew her sacrifice was great because she loved her child enough to ensure that she was able to flourish. We marvel at this fact daily as we spend precious moments with our daughter.

Zoey • Jade • Celia

While we were on a walk one day, we were meditating on God’s goodness, especially in how He preserved the life of our little girl. The name Zoey came to Hilary’s mind, and we both decided that it would be a frontrunner on our list of potentials. We later looked up the meaning and learned that Zoey means “life.” It couldn’t have just been pure coincidence… what beauty there is within a name! Hope has utilized the letter “J” for all of her children’s names. The initial “J” name she thought of was “Jordan.” Obviously, after finding that the adoptive father’s name is Jordan, that name was nixed for a girl. ☺️ Hilary and Hope both separately came up with the name “Jade,” and were certain that this was to be her first of two middle names. Celia is Hilary’s mom’s middle name, and was decided long before Zoey was even thought of.

Our First Encounter

As Zoey made her way into the world, each of us stood by Hope's side, rooting her on. We were thankful that even in adoption, Jordan was able to partake in the customary first-step into fatherhood of cutting the umbilical cord. Zoey was born at on May 12, 2018 at 10:48PM. She was a whopping 7lbs 10oz and 19 1/4inches. Meeting Zoey face-to-face was a marvelous experience! It seemed surreal when each of us held her in our arms. This was one of the many moments we prayed for, yearned for, and longed for. What a beautiful creation of our great God who gave us the wonderful opportunity of being her parents! There was much reason for praise and we continue giving glory to our Father in heaven, daily.
We stayed with Hope and baby Zoey, in the same hospital room, for 3 days.
Yes, the same hospital room.
Yes, it was for the duration of their hospitalization.

During this time, we had an extremely wide range of thoughts and feelings. We were…

·     Ecstatic to be able to spend time with Zoey

·     Nervous that we were intruding on Hope’s hospital stay

·     Doubting that the adoption would actually go through

·     Crying intermittently due to sheer exhaustion and emotional overload

·     Not sleeping at all on thee most uncomfortable pull out chair, together

·     Desiring to have loads of family & friends to visit, but couldn’t 

·     Anticipating being able to bring our sweet girl home

It definitely allowed for adequate bonding time with Zoey, but there were also extremely uncomfortable moments. We are thankful for the way that Hope’s birth plan turned out. We learned an immense amount about each other and ourselves.

Discharge day coming soon! ツ