This isn't the easiest thing to read, so I can't say much:

- No fireplace?

- Dining room /school room: Since you have a large opening between these two (French doors?), I'm wondering if this could be arranged so you'd have a normal-sized table in the dining room . . . but for large groups, you could rearrange the furniture in the school room and extennnnnd the table that way to allow for large numbers of guests.

- Usually I'd say NO to a closet on the corner, but the pantry is in a logical place, and you probably wouldn't have a window on that side of the kitchen anyway.

- I'd remove the wall between the kitchen /great room -- keep just a little edge -- I'm not using good words here, but I mean a casing between the two rooms. Perhaps a wooden beam to differentiate the two rooms.

- I would prefer the linen closet INSIDE the bathroom; you know, so the towels and toilet paper are stored where they're actually used.

- The master closet door is inconvenient. If you're in the closet and your husband tries to enter the bedroom, he'll find a door in his face. It's also cutting off some of your storage.

You mentioned the children would be sharing rooms. How many kids? I'm just wondering if the bath will be big enough for all of them?

Thanks for the responses. I like the idea of shortening the wall between the kitchen and great room. I want it to feel like separate spaces but still open and airy.

French doors between the dining room and school room is also a good idea, thanks!

Pixie Lou: We have 5 kids. We all share a much smaller bathroom right now. I'm just excited to get two full baths, in the house. But I will rethink the size. Thanks

5 kids? You'll need more closet space in the bedrooms then.

If you move the master bedroom door closer to the linen closet, you could shift your closet door to the middle of the closet, enabling you to use all sides of the closet.

Maybe the girls' bedroom door can be closer to the bathroom? And you'll want to give the boys another window, maybe on the side.

In the kids' bathroom, even though it would be more expensive, they might find cabinetry more useful than a linen closet. Drawers below, shelves above, a it of counter in the middle. You didn't give their age range, but as they get older they need space for shaving and coiffing tools :)

Definitely open up between the LR and kitchen, so you can see into the backyard. Will you have a door from the laundry/mud room to the rear porch? How about to the side yard?

You say that you want a light and bright feeling, but also long porches along the front and back. Remember that porches have the potential to cut off a lot of the sunlight that can enter a house. You'll want to pay attention to how the house is situated so that you get the sun when you want it, and block it at the times of day it might be too hot. Also, you might want to consider skylights in the porch roofs to let more light into the house.

Chicagoans is right, skylights on a porch help bring in light, and so do our ever-popular solatubes. Offhand, I'd suggest one in the foyer, the bedroom hall, the schoolroom, and perhaps between the dining room and kitchen or over the island. You'd be amazed how much less often you're turning on the lights! And you can get the solatubes with brightness dimmers, and with an integrated electric light.

Put a pocket door in the master bedroom closet instead of a door that swings.

bpathome: you have some great ideas. It would be nice to have some more storage space in the kids' bath. And moving the bedroom door could help.

The laundry/mud room will lead into the garage, which would have the bays facing the left side, and a door out back. I don't want too many other doors as I want the washer/dryer and some locker style cabinets in there.

Chicagoan: I don't like the look of lots of dormers, but I have seen a ranch that has one larger pop-out (not sure of official name) that I like. I can't figure out how to add pictures but I'll try :)
Kriszone6: Pocket door for closet is a great idea, thanks!

Below is an exterior I really like.