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“I Love You More Than Life”: Shaquille O’Neal’s Kids Dote Over Mom Shaunie With Heartfelt Notes on Special Day

Published 11/27/2023, 7:04 AM EST

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This Thanksgiving, the O’Neal kids are grateful for their mom. Shaunie Henderson capped off the holiday weekend with her birthday. Making it extra special are her five precious kids. Shaquille O’Neal‘s kids gushed over their mom on her special day with heartwarming gestures. They almost outdid one R&B superstar on the sweetness scale.

Shaq recently spent a fun Thanksgiving with his kids at his favorite vacation getaway. Even though they had an envy-worthy fun time with their dad, they didn’t skip out on celebrating their mom.

Shaq’s kids celebrate their mom, Shaunie Henderson

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On November 27, Shaunie Henderson celebrated her 49th birthday. Ahead of her birthday, she got serenaded on the first row by New Edition’s Johnny Gill. She even showed off a gorgeous Sagitarrius-themed set in church this Sunday.

And everything her husband Pastor Keion Henderson did, was blown out of the water by her kids. Shaunie’s kids shared throwbacks to their childhood and their mom with heartfelt words.

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Shaunie and Shaq’s youngest, Me’Arah O’Neal was on Instagram Stories with a picture of herself hugging Shaunie. “Happy birthday Mommy…” she wrote followed by “i love you more than life.” It was the 17-year-old 6’4″ future Gator towering a head taller over her mom that was the cutest bit.

Her brother, Shaqir was not to be left behind. The Texas Southern University standout posted a series of pictures of his mom over the years. Apart from writing a simple, “happy bday momma,” he shared the most gorgeous photograph of Shaunie in her old bridal regalia. There was also a cute moment of them twinning with their grills.

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Last but not the least to round up the ‘It’s Shaunie’s Day’ celebrations was Shareef. He wrote, “Happy birthday mama… I love you so much.” His photodump showed he was a very cute baby. He even included a young Shaq and the time he posed in a Lakers jersey with his dad’s first trophy. There was even a throwback to their time in Miami along with Shareef and his brother channeling Superman energy with their mom.

While Shaunie had an early birthday celebration at church in Houston, her kids had an exotic Thanksgiving with Shaq.

Shaquille O’Neal had a hectic Thanksgiving

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A quiet Thanksgiving is usually not on Shaquille O’Neal’s agenda. He spends the week doing charity, gives his chef a day off, and stays home or enjoys a little family vacation.

This year, Shaq refurbished a South L.A. community basketball court while his eldest, Taahirah O’Neal hosted a giveback through Big Chicken. For the actual holiday, he whisked his kids off to the Bahamas, a favorite retreat spot he’s spends several vacations in.

But his kids didn’t keep the peace and quiet. In fact, Taahirah even got on his nerves. His kids shared several other updates on their vacation, including their basketball showdowns, proving it’s far from a laidback Thanksgiving.

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It’s adorable seeing Shaq and Shaunie being the ones doted on by their six kids. But since this is the competitive O’Neal gang, who did it best?

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Written by:

Caroline John

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Caroline John is a senior NBA writer at EssentiallySports. She holds a Masters degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from a reputed university. With 8 years of experience in content writing and after judiciously covering the life of Shaquille O’Neal, she even earned an exclusive interview with the CEO of Shaq’s Big Chicken franchise, Josh Halpern.
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Edited by:

Aakash Nair