Dr. Matt Mueller makes a habit of retreating to his garage for a quick smoke.

One year after a tornado destroyed the Muellers' home on Nora Street in Clark, the physician now indulges this vice several blocks away in a house he and his wife, Patricia, moved into July 1 along with their children -- Christopher, 5, and Hanna, 4.

"I think we've gone through every single emotion possible," Mueller said of the past year. "It's no wonder I still smoke."

But unlike cigarette smoke, which curls up and disappears into the chilly autumn air, Mueller's and his family's memories of the tornado cannot fade. Reminders of its destruction are everywhere.

Mrs. Mueller still regularly experiences nightmares that her children were sleeping in their rooms instead of being awake and able to run into the sheltered safety of the basement before the tornado hit. The furniture in the family's living room bears nicks and dings, remnants from the brunt of a collapsed roof. A before and after picture of the Nora Street house hangs in the current dining room to remind them how lucky they are to be alive.

A former Navy doctor whose 14-year military commitment ended in February, Mueller hadn't lived with his family for two years prior to last Nov. 10. The Veterans Day holiday allowed him to be home on a rare long weekend when the tornado hit that Sunday.

He was, of all things, smoking a cigarette in the garage when Lightning, the family dog, started barking uncontrollably. The ruckus alerted him that more than a typical storm was brewing and gave him enough time to get to the basement before most of the house, and all of the garage, caved in.

The couple admit they considered leaving Clark to put the disaster further behind them, but they decided they couldn't abandon the area where Trish grew up and where Matt, who has lived around the globe, is happiest with his family.

"It sort of became a mental thing that this wasn't going to beat us," said Mueller, who has since opened a new practice in Conneaut, Ohio. "If we left, somehow it personified this tornado. That it beat us."

That doesn't mean the Muellers' decision to stay in Clark hasn't come without its challenges. The family still hasn't settled damages with its insurance company and plans to rebuild on Nora Street hit an irreparable snag when the Muellers learned they wouldn't be financially covered to rebuild a house similar to the original.

"Up until the tornado hit, the house was perfect," Mrs. Mueller said. "For the first time in our lives, we had established such a wonderful home and it was all gone in eight seconds. The consistency and security were gone."

The Muellers received a much-needed and overdue lucky break early in the summer. While dining at a local restaurant, they came across an ad in a real estate magazine. It detailed the house at 7 Parkview in Clark, less than a half-mile from Nora Street.

The next day, after looking at the house in the morning, the Muellers signed the papers in the afternoon and finally had a home in which to begin moving forward with their lives.

While the Muellers admit the Parkview home is larger and more spacious than they ever could have imagined, it doesn't compensate for what the family lost. It isn't home.

"It's almost like the loop hasn't been closed and there hasn't been final closure because we didn't go back to the original spot," Mueller said. "We still have that desire to go back and be whole again."

The Muellers have had enough excitement in the last year to last a lifetime, which is why, as Mueller said, they are ready to embrace a quiet, suburban lifestyle.

They are well on their way.

Christopher and Hanna enjoy their rooms in the home on Parkview, and Mueller's one-hour commute to work is a small price to pay for the satisfaction of living under the same roof with his family.

"At the beginning of this year we had no house and no personal possessions," he said. "I'm starting a new life going from military all those years to family practice. It's like, 'What more can they throw at us at this point?' "

Mrs. Mueller said she still goes out of her way not to drive by the abandoned lot on Nora Street where only an empty driveway remains. The one time she did recently, she became so lost in thought that she missed the turn toward her new home. She must also continue to wrangle with the insurance company, a battle the family now has legal representation to help them fight.

Add such ongoing frustration to the constant reminders of the tragedy and it's easy to excuse Mueller's ongoing trips to his garage to enjoy a cigarette.

After all, it was in a garage that his life began to come undone.

The view from his Parkview garage affords him a view of the dog who saved his life and the small backyard playground where his children can happily play. It's as good a place as any to contemplate building on the future.

"They say things like this either make or break you," he said. "I'd say we've come out of this stronger."