Select a Candidate 2008

Overdue

We have been slacking on updates. So just to let you know, new pictures and post coming within the next few days.

Also, Sonic is Heidi's Chronic. Nooch.

Vegisaurus

Cooper is really into dinosaurs right now; for Christmas he got a big tub of dinos from Auntie Karen. In the tub was a big Brontosaurus; it's become one if his favs. Perhaps it's the veggie lover in him (or Joey's past life channeling), but the dino is his Broccoliosaurus. Next time you're eating your green trees, imagine them with a looonngg neck, and short, thick legs.

Home Sweet, Gingerbread Home

We were so busy during the Christmas chaos that we weren't able to get the Gingerbread house Sigrid gave the kids made during the holidays. But, we definitely wanted the kids to have fun making it, so we made it this weekend. They had as much fun swiping candy from the candy bowl as they did doing the decorating!

Cake #5

Free Ice Cream

Amazing Love Story

Chinese Man Shows World What Real Love is by Carving 6,000 Steps Up a Mountain for Wife

Their story came atop a list of China's top ten love stories.

Dont Try to Take Me to a Disco

All she's missing are the Ray Ban Wayfarer sunglasses.

Problem Solving

Now that I've been home with the kids, they've had lots of playtime and arts and crafts, but we are starting to wonder what they should also be learning at this stage. We're trying to start being proactive about their skills; in daycare there were group activities designed for this.

Cooper is pretty on track; he can recite numbers 1 to 10 (sometimes 12), he recognizes numbers, and can count to 10. He talks up a storm when he wants to, and his speech adapts. We'll notice new words or use of grammar that sometimes surprise us.

Ava is doing good, too. With the exception of not wanting to talk, which the Dr. thinks she's just not hit her growth spurt yet, she's ahead of her age. The Dr. said in social and adaptive skill she's at the 26 month mark. 4 months doesn't seem too much, but when it's applied to a 22 month old, that's practically 1/5 of her age! I think having Cooper as her playmate helps.

Here, we purchased a floor puzzle for the kids to work on. We knew Ava wouldn't really be able to complete it, but she watched and tried to get the pieces to fit. Cooper needed guidance, but once the piece was found and near the right place, he could get it. Here is Cooper with the finished puzzle.

Cake (#4)

A little different this time, much more color (no white) and I tried more design.

Next week I'm going to start (hopefully) Wilton 2.

New Year, New Look

The last haircut I had was in California, so I was long overdue. I took about 5 inches (it was too long) and give me bangs, which I haven't had since around the time I met Joey! Besides, Cooper got one, so why not me, too?

No matter how you say it....

Arabic: Kul 'aam u antum salimoun
Chinese: Chu Shen Tan
Dutch: Gullukkig Niuw Jaar
French: Bonne Annee
German: Prosit Neujahr
Greek: Eftecheezmaenos o Kaenooryos hronos
Hebrew: L'Shannah Tovah Tikatevu
Irish (Gaelic): Bliain nua fe mhaise dhuit
Italian: Buon Capodanno
Polish: Szczesliwego Nowego Roku
Russian: S Novim Godom
Spanish: Feliz Ano Neuvo Prospero Ano Nuevo
English: Happy New Year

No matter how it is said, the meaning is the same.

*rawsonfour

Happy New Years Peas

A traditional southern New Year's dish is black eyed peas and ham hocks. An old saying goes, "Eat peas on New Year's day to have plenty of everything the rest of the year."

We modified this for our tastes; turkey sausage and chicken, and added to the sauteed onions some diced carrot, celery (leftover from Christmas.) To the reserved liquid, we added some chicken base for additional flavor. We also added a little pepper, pinch of garlic, and some parsley.

• 1 pound dried black-eyed peas
• 1 pound link sausage, or your favorite
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar (we used light)
  
• 1 tablespoon prepared mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup prepared barbecue sauce

Rinse, prepare, soak, and cook peas in about 3 cups water, following directions on the package. Drain and reserve half of the cooking liquid. In a skillet over medium heat, brown sausage and onions; drain off excess fat.

Place peas in a 3-quart casserole; add sausage and onions. Stir in reserved liquid, brown sugar, mustard, salt, and barbecue sauce. Bake at 300° for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

A New Years Editorial By Joey Rawson

With another year ending, and one about to begin, I thought I would share some thoughts.

As this year begun, unwanted stress and anger were part of my daily routine at work. Which bled into fatigue and stress at home. But once September came along, and we hit the highway, I started whistling a different tune.

Moving to North Carolina has been nothing short of a blessing. My new command has supported me as an individual more than any other command in my career. The Onslow County area is a great place to live. Don't get me wrong, Southern California was awesome, and San Clemente was a beautiful place to live, but it grew tired. Here, I feel relaxed, no pressure. I haven't meet anybody mean. It's full of "Southern Hospitality." It took a little getting used to, but I sure do enjoy it now.

The stars shine brightly, and the cool wind is the only noise cluttering your thoughts at night (unless the hunting dogs at the end of the road are going at it, but they're just dogs). Yeah, we have the occasional gun fire here and there, but to put it in prospective, it's just some hunter out there enjoying himself.

As a city boy, with 19 years of Philadelphia blood running through me, I must say this was a much needed change. Who needs gang violence, murder, theft and streets of trash, when you can have people who are just living. Sure, some have small homes and leave stuff on their lawns. But in all honesty, do we really need big things, or is it something that we desire? I have a big house, but I wanted a big house. Could I have settled for a park model? Sure, but it was our desire to have this home.

Ending my discourse, I would like to say that I love North Carolina. I love my family and the home we live in. I love the country road I drive to work everyday, and farms that line them.

Happy 2008 everybody. Keep it simple.

*joey

38 Years of Aggression Unleashed

Eerily Quiet on the Homefront

It's been eerily quiet here on the home front, now that everyone has left. Now we have the daunting task of returning to normal. Normal night time routine, normal play times and play places, normal TV schedule (afternoon only) normal dinner, etc. So far the only one giving resistance is Cooper, but he'll work it out. We also have to get the toys out of the living room and into the playroom. Since moving here, we've had a relatively toy free living room; how we wanted it, and opposite life in California. For Christmas, we allowed free reign on the house, but now it's time to corral the toys once again.

Return to the RawsonFour

Well, our family left tonight back to suburban Philadelphia. It was great having all of them here for the week, I love having family around, the kids love having their grandparents visit, Christy is a great auntie, and Chad was a huge help in the kitchen. Alex was a new source of fun for his two cousins. It's good for the cousins to spend time together and get to know each other, like my sister and I did when we were kids with our cousins.

Playtime

After several days inside (it's rained a few times, and the kids have had PLENTY of toys to play with), Christy and I decided to take the kids to the playground today, while Joey was at work and the guys napped before their ride home. It was great, they all got some fresh air, exercise, and play time.

Local J'ville Haunts

Today we went to the local Jacksonville haunts; Super Walmart and Golden Corral for dinner! We went on an "auto tour" of J'ville first, because we had intented on going to Mike's Farm for dinner, but it appeared everyone else had the same idea; a 2 hour wait changed our minds.

Mom and Jim

Mom and Jim had to leave tonight, as Jim has obligations on another day, but we were so glad they could make it down, see our new house, and spend time with us and the kids. The kids loved their Bumble Bee Transformer (it's going to take us an eternity every time he wants it "transformed" but that's OK!) and Cabbage Patch and Stroller (Ava is going to to wear a patch on the circle from the kitchen around the living room, through the dining room, and back to the kitchen!).
Cooper giving Papa a shoulder ride.

Christmas Morning

As usual, our children received what they wanted from Santa, and their grandparents spoiled them. After the mass chaos, when we have time to reflect, we feel both lucky for all they receive, and also humble. You want to provide for you children, and want them to have nice things, but at the same time there are those who don't have a fraction.

Next week we'll going to go through their current toys like we did last year and have them "pick" they toys they want to give to babies and children that need them more.

The Chilluns on Christmas Eve

Getting Ready for Santa

Since Santa comes down the fireplace, Cooper decided to listen for him to see if he could hear him!

Christmas Eve

Tonight we had a great Turkey Soup that Chad brought down from Philly. He made it from the remains from Ari's turkey from Thanksgiving; mmmm. Then we went to the Presbyterian Chapel on base for a evening Christmas service; it was good to experience the base chapel service with both our families; and even better that the kids did mostly well (especially Cooper, he's at the age now that he can sit through a service.)

Christmas Cake (Cake #3)

Mmm, another fattening cake. Here's my creation for Christmas. I should have had some red, but I already had plenty of saved yellow and green, so in the interest of using what I had, this is what I came up with.

Christmas Eve Morning

Morning rises in the Rawson household, and with it, the children...

Taste

Mom (Lawson) gets a explanation from Joey what the job he does when deployed, including the gear he has to wear. Mom can't believe how heavy it is, so Joey has her try the vest on for size herself, vest itself is around 50 pounds!

Christmas with the Cranks (Rawson/Lawsons)

We had a houseful coming down here for our first Christmas in North Carolina. Ingrid, Jim, Pat, Joe, Christy, Chad, and Big Al came down to join us. It was a houseful and we were glad they could all join us.

Check it out

We have added audio to our site. Please enjoy the smooth sounds of the holiday season. We will be commercial free until Jan 1, 2008.

You must click the play button to hear the music. And, if you want to skip to the next song, click on the album cover to the right. It's that easy.

So let the RAWSONFOUR jukebox fill your house with holiday cheer. It's a gift, from us.