The Thornton House

They’re giving the term new neighbors a totally different meaning. Welcome, Thornton family!

Brandy Thornton and her husband Jason have always lived in a rural, small town in Alabama and in 2019 made a pact to see somewhere new each month that year. In March, they decided to come see Laurel and they both felt an instant connection. They immediately went back home and started working on a plan to make Laurel a new home for them.. It was away from the comfort of their history, their family, and their jobs, but they felt peace that Laurel was their future. They wanted to be a neighbor in Laurel and they wanted it now.

“We’ve never had a home that felt like OURS. We are ready for our first home and we want that home to be in Laurel.”

They never dreamed of leaving their home in Alabama, but as soon as they visited Laurel a sense of peace and belonging came over them and they knew they needed to be here. After several months of prayer, they picked up and began to sell all that they had to make the move to Laurel. To some, it may seem a bit peculiar but for them it was an overwhelming feeling of home that they couldn’t ignore. As a homeschool, blended family an atmosphere of community and joy was extremely important for them and finding it in Laurel was instant.

 Brandy shares,

“When we moved here it just felt like we fell in instantly, as if we had always been here.”

As believers, The Thornton family knew that finding a faith family along with their new neighbors would be extremely important. They quickly found a church that they adored and fell into two jobs that they both knew were for them. Everything was a peaceful and easy transition, even when it came to finding their perfect home. Making spaces within that home where they could live life and make dinner as a family was a huge priority. Brandy grew up cooking in the kitchen with her grandma and mom and has been thrilled to finally have a space that left an avenue to create those same memories with her family.

“Growing up, I spent many days around granny’s kitchen table as she and mama had coffee and talked. We sat there while she cooked. We colored there. We played there.” Brandy mentions that the kitchen is the life of her home and knew that it would be a tradition she wanted to keep going for generations to come.

Laurel has all kinds of physical charm but what ultimately brought the Thornton family here to stay was the sense of community that overwhelmed them. “We take walks a lot after supper and often see neighbors on the porch as we go by, sometimes we stop.. exchange book references or talk about the next gathering in town..” Brandy so fondly mentions that the feeling of home they get in Laurel is more than they’ve ever gotten, even in the place they both grew up and raised their children.

We most certainly agree that is an incredibly special place. Thank you Thornton family for putting your faith in a place that you had just met, and for sticking around because we know the best is yet to come! 

Shop the Thornton collection here! 

https://www.laurelmercantile.com/collections/season4-episode-6-thornton