Please show how to make four boxes (checked) across the front as illustrated
 

Can anyone direct me to a thread that shows how to put 4 - 2x2 boxes across the front of the site. They would contain images and or text or both. Much appreciated

I got the illustration posted under hello world at petsgetcancertoo.com

probably not but you could
- build a table and have two rows and two columns or
- use CSS to position the images or
- you might find a plugin

and what do you mean by '(checked)'?

Could you direct me to a thread that shows how to do it with css?
The checked boxes are just on the illustration to identify the four boxes.

There is no thread explaining how to do exactly that. This is where you need to start learning CSS and playing and experimenting. A good place to start would be a tutorial like http://htmldog.com/guides/css/

why aren't you using widgets?