Basic problem, before even addressing your question, is that you should not be replacing the normal.dotm file with anything that you create.

1. The normal template must not be shared.
2. If you take any other document than a normal template created by Word and attempt to use it as a normal template you will lose at least some functionality of Word.
3. The normal template should not include any text or images (including headers/footers/page numbers).

You can find references to support this at Templates in Microsoft Word. You can share customizations and resources in other ways.

There are even ways to make new documents base themselves on a different template than the normal template by default if that is what you want to do. Several examples are here: Downloads - Easy New Document Template Package Look at the one named in the link and the Letterhead AddIn(s) a bit further down.