Digital Camera for Beginner

I got a Canon 1000d dslr twins lens pack for 900$aud. It's a great camera to learn on. And I'm looking into second hand Canon lenses to, but they won't support AF. Which is great cause the only time I use AF is at family parties where I only use it as point and shoot with the 58mm lens. I would like an IS lens but too much for me right now. But as others said and as I say "learning how to use a camera is easy, mastering the picture is an endless task"

The camera matters much less than does learning to use flash. Here's a good place to start:

http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101.html