EDITOR'S NOTE: This is part of The Herald's yearlong series of stories following three families displaced by the Nov. 10 tornado in Clark and South Pymatuning Township.

Two years ago, Trish and Matt Mueller picked their perfect home: a three-bedroom Cape Cod, with a nice kitchen and formal living and dining rooms.

The Muellers found the house in Clark, where they planned to live and raise their children -- Hannah, who is now 3, and Christopher, now 4.

Their spacious family room, complete with fireplace, often served as a comfy, cozy space. They celebrated Christmas in that room for two years. It was the Muellers' place to set up the tree and watch their kids unwrap gifts on Christmas morning.

The chance for a third Christmas within those four walls never came.

The tornado that touched down in Clark Nov. 10 destroyed their Nora Street home and many neighboring houses as well. "It was a home. There was a lot of love in that home," Mrs. Mueller said.

Instead of that home, the family spent Christmas morning at their temporary apartment in Hermitage before heading to Mrs. Mueller's parents' home in Sharon.

Trish and Matt, who is home on leave from the Navy, spent Christmas Eve in their old neighborhood at the home of Nora Street friends.

As they enjoyed their visit, the couple tried to put the gloomy past behind them.

Mrs. Mueller said it felt good to drive through their neighborhood and pretend their house was still there.

"Matt said, 'None of this happened. We're going home. The fireplace is burning ..."

Sadly, they headed to their new place.

But their sadness was brightened by the goodwill of people they don't know.

Boy Scouts from Jamestown Troop 53 bought a toolbox for little Christopher. Gifts also arrived from many others.

"It's just been overwhelming," Mrs. Mueller said. "There's too many to name. The Prince of Peace (Center in Farrell) dropped off things to us. We were given quilts. People have just been so amazing."

Not a day goes by that the two Mueller children don't ask questions about their old house. They ask questions like, "Is the house still broken?"

It is.

Debris still fills the basement; a pool table and bar are there, awaiting excavation.

For the Muellers, Feb. 1 seems like a great day to begin fixing their broken house.

That's the day Mueller, a Navy physician, leaves the military. He is stationed in Maryland and hasn't lived with his wife and kids for about two years.

On Feb. 1, he'll move home permanently.

"It will be a big day in our lives," he said.

You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Larissa Theodore ltheodore@sharonherald.com