I Love Late Birthday Presents!

So Tanner kept saying how sorry he was for not being 'on the ball' with my birthday this year because of moving here and getting settled etc. etc., but I honestly didn't care, I was just happy to finally be here with my family and to not have completely lost my mind (emphasis on completely). Anyway, Tanner came home one night, plopped down on the couch, threw a little drawstring bag in my lap and said "Happy Birthday!" When I opened it, it was a beautiful pearl necklace. I loved it! He then lobbed three more bags in my lap and enclosed were two more pearl bracelets and another necklace made of crushed pearls. I felt like the luckiest girl ever!
The local pearls from Indonesia are beautiful. Apparently there are freshwater and salt water pearls (I am clueless when it comes to these kinds of things). The salt water pearls are more rounded and smooth, and the fresh water ones tend to have more ridges on them and not be quite as round due to the lack of salt. My bracelets are fresh water and my necklace is salt water. The other wonderful thing about buying them here in Indonesia is that they are incredibly affordable. It was the best gift because I really want to buy things that I can have for a long time and even pass down to my children and grandchildren. My mom let me wear her pearl necklace that she received from her mother on my wedding day, and I hope I can have the same kind of tradition with my daughter one day.