Ratguy,
Sorry to hear about your flood. There are some posters here who feel everyone should have $100K to throw at a kitchen otherwise they should not bother to remodel. That's hogwash, imho.
There are also many well-meaning folks trying to help you not make design mistakes and avoid bringing down your house. :) If you're not removing the soffit, the kitchen will look very odd if the cabinets extend beyond them, so keep that in mind with your new sink wall. It would look intentional to end your cabinet run to be flush with the edge of the soffit.
What is on the wall opposite the sink? Is it open to another room or is it just an empty wall?
Q
The wall opposite of of sink is a hallway and blank wall on hallway wall area. There is a mural on that wall now. I don't want chairs to run into the walk way
Q